Dead Man Walking
by WalkingDeadRox
Summary: He was a marine trying to recapture the city of Atlanta from the dead with the help of his unit, but then he was forced to make a very difficult decision. At first, he regretted his decision, but he soon finds hope in an unlikely place. The idea of younger Clementine is from FancyPsychopath.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys, Q here. I decided to bring this story back. I apologize for taking it off in the first place. I'll try not to do that from now on. So, once again, The FancyPsychopath gets credit for the idea of younger Clementine. And disclaimer time…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Gunfire erupted in downtown Atlanta, as the Marine tried to help his allies to contain the overwhelming herd of psychopathic cannibals that were quickly nicknamed by his fellow officers as walkers. The Marine himself, Zack, continued to fire as another Marine kept yelling, "Don't let them bit or scratch you or you'll get sick." In fact, several of the Marines were now in the medical tents behind the military line for being bit or scratched early on in the reoccupation of the city. Suddenly, Zack's own gun jammed and he cursed under his breath. He tried to fix the problem with his assault rifle, but to no avail. One of the walkers was getting closer to him to which he quickly drew his military issued knife and stabbed the creature in the skull.

"Nice going." One of the other privates praised as Zach withdrew the blade from the walker's skull.

"Thanks." Zack said.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream from behind them as a walker wearing a Marine uniform ripped out an artery from an unfortunate private's neck. "Shit they're behind us!" One of the older Marines exclaimed.

Zach quickly went in with his knife and stabbed the once Marine ally turned walker. He looked up and his eyes widened. The entire medical facility was overran! Walkers wearing Marine uniforms and doctor scrubs approached the outflanked Marines. Zach growled and he exclaimed, "We're outflanked. The medical facility is overran! We have to retreat!"

"Get a hold of yourself soldier!" The corporal shouted not noticing the overran medical facility. "We've lost too many men to-AAAHHHHHH!" Suddenly the corporal was bit on the neck and was killed gruesomely as the walker tore out his artery.

"Shit, we need more firepower!" One of the older Marine shouted as he fired at the deceased corporal and the walker that killed him. The Marine looked to Zach and shouted, "Griffith, we need help over here!"

Zach shook his head as he looked around to see that they were being surrounded. He quickly knifed another walker and ran away from the formation. "Griffith!" The Marines shouted but they quickly went back to firing at the walkers that were surrounding them.

**Two Days Later**

The vehicle finally ran out of gas as the deserter, Zach, huffed. "Dammit!" Zach shouted angrily as he pounded the steering wheel with his fists. He huffed to calm down and he looked around the area. He was in a suburban area outside of Atlanta. He huffed as he reminded himself of how stupid he was for leaving the military outpost in Atlanta. His life as a Marine was over; hell his life as a free man was over. He also had a few stray tears upon thinking of what happened to him after he left his unit and went to his home to retrieve his loving wife, Amaya, but when he got home, he found her as a walker. He sighed and grabbed his backpack and looked inside to check his supplies. He didn't have much food left, so he had to get out of his vehicle and search for food in the nearby houses.

The nearest house was a modest home by the looks of it. He approached the home with his hand over his katana, which was given to him by Amaya's father. In order for Zach to be accepted into the family, Amaya's father demanded that Zach would have decent skill with using the weapon. As Amaya would explain it, 'He was very traditional.' After a couple years of training, Amaya's father gave him the sword as acceptance to the family. The katana itself was strapped onto his military issued backpack on the right side, which was where Zach's dominant hand was.

He approached the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. Zach then saw a gate that blocked off the backyard from the front yard and went to it. He examined the gate with intrigue and even pushed on it. It creaked open to his surprise and he said, "How about that? Not locked." He pushed the gate further to allow him to enter the backyard. He looked around the fenced-in yard and noticed a pool, a child's tea party setup, a wagon, and a treehouse. "Good word, is there a kid mixed up in all of this?" Zach asked sadly. He shook his head to refocus and decided to go up to the back porch steps to get inside the house.

He opened the sliding door and looked around the house interior. He noticed an answering machine flashing on a stand, the television screen was blurred with no reception, and there was pool of blood that came from the kitchen. Inside the kitchen was more blood and the house appeared to have been ransacked and destroyed with item scattered everywhere and a small table was laying on its side in the kitchen. "In and out, Zachery. In and out." Zach said to himself to build up his courage.

He went through the cupboards and pantries quickly looking for any food. The result of his search gave him a couple boxes of animal crackers, a large can of peaches, a can of beans, a box of granola bars, and finally a hand-held radio. He exited the kitchen with most of the newly found supplies in his backpack, but he looked at the last item he found with intrigue and confusion. "Why would this be in a cupboard?" Zach asked as he looked over the device.

The answering machine sounded with a loud ring. Zach jumped slightly but huffed upon seeing the device. "Alright, what do you got for me?" Zach asked the machine as he pressed play.

"You have three new messages." The machine stated. "Message one left at five-forty-three p.m."

Suddenly the voice of a slightly older woman could be heard on the answering machine. She sounded to be in her early thirties. "Hey Sandra, this is Diana, we're still in Savannah. Ed had a little incident with some crazy guy near the hotel, so we had to get him back to the ER and have it checked out. Anyway, he's not feeling well enough to drive back tonight, so we're staying an extra day. Thanks so much for looking after Clementine and I promise, we'll be back before the end of your spring break."

The answering machine was heard again with its monotone sound, "Message two left at eleven-nineteen p.m."

"Finally!" Diana exclaimed, "I don't know if you tried to reach us; all the calls are getting dropped. They're not letting us leave and aren't telling us anything about Atlanta. Please, please, just leave the city and take Clementine with you back to Marietta. I've got to get back to the hospital. Please let me know if you're safe." Zach was visibly saddened at the fear and sadness of the woman on the other end of the phone and was almost reluctant to hear the third message.

"Message three left at six-fifty-one a.m." The monotone answering machine sounded.

"Clementine?" Diana cried desperately as the sound of sirens could be heard in background. "Baby, if you can hear this call the police. That's nine-one-one. And we love you… we love you… we lov-" Diana's voice stopped and the beep of the machine sounded ending the message.

Zach sighed and said, "Shit, what has this world come to? And to think that I'm a part of it now."

He then noticed a picture frame that sat on the stand with the answering machine and looked at it. It showed a couple in their thirties with what appeared to be a young girl sitting in front of them. "Hello?" The hand-held radio came to life with the sound of a young girl's voice.

Zack looked to the radio and pressed down on the button, "Hello?" Zach asked into the speaker of the radio

"You need to be quiet." A young girl's voice said.

"I'm not a monster." Zach said.

"That's good." The girl chimed.

"Are you Clementine?" Zach asked.

"Yeah." The girl replied. "How do you know who I am?"

"I saw it on a finger painting and took a guess." Zach lied. He knew it from Diana's desperate pleas from the answering machine. However, it wasn't a complete lie because he did eye a child's finger painting which had Clementine's name written on the bottom. "By the way, you did a good job on that painting." Zach praised.

"Thanks, it was a lot fun to do." The girl chimed.

"You don't sound that old. How old are you?" Zach asked.

"I'm five, but I'll be six in a few months." Clementine chimed in. "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-six." Zach said.

"Okay…" Clementine said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Zachery Griffith. But everyone calls me Zach." Zach said. "However, mother will usually call me Zachery when I'm in trouble, which happens a lot." He could hear the young five year old at the other end giggle at his comment and Zach continued, "Are you safe?"

"I'm outside in my treehouse. They can't get in." Clementine said. Zach went over to the window that looked out to the treehouse while avoiding the pool of blood.

He stood in front of the window and chuckled, "That's smart."

"See?" Clementine exclaimed. "Can you see me? I can see you through the window." Clementine waved to Zach as she opened up the door to the treehouse.

Zach waved to her with a smile, but suddenly the girl screamed in horror and retreated back inside. Zach immediately whipped around and was staring face-to-face with a walker. It sniffed him questioningly but he shook his head and placed his hands on the counter to kick the creature a few feet from him with both legs. It landed on the fallen table with a growl as Zach drew his katana. The creature growled at him but he quickly responded with a strong slash to its skull. It fell to the ground dead and Zach quickly sheathed his sword. He went past the pool of blood and saw the young girl with a hammer in her hands at the screen door. She looked at him with wide eyes and he approached the door with his hands raised up. He opened the screen door and crouched down in front of her. "Hi, I'm Zach." Zach greeted her.

"H-Hi" The girl responded shakily. "Is Sandra still here?"

"No." Zach said as he shook his head. "I… put her out of her misery. She's not hurting anymore." Zach had to choose his words carefully as to not frighten the five year old but at the same time not overwhelm her with large vocabulary. He looked to her sadly and asked, "You've been all by yourself through this?"

"Yeah, I want my parents to come home now?" Clementine said as she placed the hammer on the ground.

"I think that might be a while, you know?" Zach said.

"Oh…" The five year old said as she looked down sadly.

Zach wrapped his hands around her small frail ones and said, "Hey listen, I'm going to do whatever I can to help you until… things can work themselves out, okay?"

Clementine smiled at the man's kindness and asked, "Wh-What should we do now?"

"We're going to need to get you some clothes for the upcoming fall and winter and some toys to entertain you." Zach said. "Can you show me your room?"

"Yeah, it's this way." Clementine exclaimed as she started to drag Zach. However Zach planted his feet and stopped the girl. She looked back confused by his action and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Um… I kind of got rid of your babysitter in a really… terrible-looking way." Zach said. He had to be honest with her. He didn't want her to see the gruesome scene of Sandra with her brain sliced open. "Could I carry you to the stairs and could you please close your eyes so that you don't see Sandra?"

"I…I don't know." Clementine said. Despite how kind Zach was, he was still a stranger to Clementine.

"It will be very quick." Zach said.

Clementine contemplated for a couple of seconds until she smiled and said, "Okay." Zach smiled back and picked up the young child. He was surprised by how light she was. He knew that she looked light but she practically weighed as much as a three year old toddler. As she was instructed, Clementine closed her eyes, and as he promised, Zach placed her on the ground once he reached the stairs. "Come on." Clementine said excited to show her room. Zach followed her and went upstairs with her.

She went to one of the doors and turned the doorknob with her small hands and opened it to reveal her room. The room itself had purple bedding, wallpaper, and carpeting. As for the toys, it reflected both worlds of a tomboy and a girly girl, with Legos at one corner of the room and a toy house in the other. The room appeared to be relatively untouched by all of the chaos as there wasn't a drop of blood anywhere. "See? Do you like my room?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah, it looks really nice." Zach said. "Is purple your favorite color?"

"Yup." Clementine chirped.

"Okay. Do you have a backpack so I can put some of your things in?" Zach asked. Clementine nodded and she pointed to a blue backpack that hung from one of the posts of the bedframe. He picked up the backpack which was weighed down by school supplies. He emptied it and looked to Clementine and asked, "Where does your mom keep your fall and winter clothes at?"

"I think in here." Clementine said as she opened one of the drawers to a dresser. "Yup."

Zach went over to the drawer and started put some clothes in the backpack along with a blanket. After he finished, Zach looked to Clementine and asked, "What's one of your favorite things to do?"

"I like to draw and color. Mommy and daddy say I spend too much time drawing and coloring, but I like it." Clementine chimed.

"Alright, good." Zach said with a smile. He then eyed the desk at the adjacent corner to him and he went to it. He placed a couple of coloring books and a drawing pad in the backpack. He then unzipped another flap and placed a twenty-four pack of crayon, three sharpened pencil and a hand sharpener in it. He zipped up the flap and looked to the five year old again.

She was now looking at a plush toy on her bed and asked with pleading eyes, "Can I take my lion with me, please?" She hugged said toy as she stared at Zach.

"How can I say no to that face?" Zach said. "Yeah, put him inside."

"Yes!" Clementine cheered, but there was still room for one more thing in her backpack so Zach wouldn't have said no anyway.

He zipped up the backpack and asked, "You ready to go?"

"I…" Clementine said sadly as she looked around the room sadly. "I-I live here. It's hard to say good-bye."

"I know, sweetie, but we're not safe here. We need to find some form of shelter." Zach said.

Clementine nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm ready." Zach smiled and he got up. He left the room with the girl by his side holding his hand as he carried her backpack. She looked back to her room, one last time almost reluctant to leave it and looked forward again. They descended the stairs and Zack repeated the process of carrying her across the house so she would avoid seeing Sandra.

Zach placed her on the ground and she held his hand again. Zach smiled to her as they went to the gate. "I think I can siphon some gas from these other vehicles to refill my-" Zach started to explain as he reached the gate. However, he was interrupted as he eyed two young men, who were a couple of years younger than him, trying to push a couple of cars out of the way for their vehicle to get through. Their vehicle appeared to be a red and white truck which must have been an older model due to the dried mud and small amount rust on the body.

"Aw man!" One of the men exclaimed.

"I ain't ever going to get to mama at this rate." His stocky ally said.

"This sucks." The first man complained.

"It's hot dish night." The stocky man said.

"Let's ask these guys for a lift." Zach said as he talked to the young girl. "You want to do that?"

"I-I don't know. I don't want to sleep in the treehouse tonight, but I don't know if I should leave. What if my parents come home?" Clementine said.

Zach crouched down to her eye level and held both of her hands supportively with a kind smile. "I won't leave you." Zach said. "How about we go somewhere safe for the night that's close?"

Clementine smiled and said, "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Zach nodded and he got back up. He and Clementine proceeded to open the gate. However, the gate's loud creak alerted the two men to their presence and they jumped up seeing them. "Holy shit, man! Please don't eat us." The stocky man exclaimed.

"Relax. We're not going to hurt you." Zach said.

"Phew." The young man said. "I thought you and the little one were both going to give us the chomp."

"We need help. My truck is completely out of gas and I need to get her to safety." Zach said as he indicated to Clementine.

"Are you trying to get out of here? Because you should be." The young man said. "Those things are all over the damn place. I haven't seen anything as gnarly as this neighborhood since downtown Atlanta, fifteen miles back." Zach looked down sadly at the mention of his former outpost which didn't go unnoticed by the young man. "Are you okay?"

Zach shook his head to refocus and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." He then extended his hand and said, "Zach Griffith."

"I'm Shawn. Shawn Greene." The young man said as he shook Zach's hand. He then eyed the young five year old and asked, "What's this one's name?"

"This is Clementine." Zach introduced the young girl.

The stocky man squatted down and smiled to Clementine and introduced himself. "I'm Chet."

Clementine smiled at the stocky man as her form of hello and Shawn continued, "We shouldn't be out in the open like this. How about you help us clear the way and we can take you and your daughter out of here and down to my family's farm. It should be safer there."

"I'm not her dad." Zach said. "I'm just some guy who found her."

"Just some guy?" Shawn asked. "She's alone?" He looked to her as she looked up to Zach and held onto his hand with both of her small ones. Shawn looked up to Zach and continued, "Let's get going. Staying put for too long is a mistake."

Zach nodded and he looked to Clementine. She nodded in confirmation that she would go to the farm. "Alright, let's do this." Zach said. Suddenly the four could hear growls and snarls coming in all directions.

"Them monsters are coming! We got to go!" Chet exclaimed.

Shawn placed his hands on a wrecked car as Chet looked on to see several walkers heading for them. "Zach come on, help me push." Shawn said. Zach placed Clementine's backpack on the ground and placed his hands on the vehicle. Together, he and Shawn pushed the car out of the truck's way. However, when Shawn stopped to catch his breath, Zach continued to push the car and huffed as soon as he pushed it completely out of the way. He then ran over and grabbed Clementine's backpack and he and Clementine followed Chet. Chet took the truck bed as his seat, allowing Clementine and Zach to have the passenger seat.

They got in as Shawn started up the truck and shot off from the scene. He slammed the car that they had moved and drove along the curb in his haste, but they escaped the deathtrap suburb. "For just some guy, you seemed to have saved a lot of lives today." Shawn remarked as he hit a couple of roadblocks.

* * *

The drive to Shawn's house took the remainder of the evening and into nighttime. He drove past a large cornfield and neared a farmhouse. He entered into a fenced in area and said, "We're here." He, Zach and Clementine exited the vehicle as Chet climbed out of the truck bed.

"Hey Shawn… I'm going to go on home. My mama's going to be in a snit." Chet said.

"No sweat man, I'll catch you tomorrow night." Shawn replied.

"It was nice to meet you both." Chet said to Zach and Clementine and headed home.

Zach looked down to Clementine who was looking especially tired due to the trip and the lateness of night. Granted, it was only ten in the evening, but she was still five years old. Clementine yawned and Zach asked, "You tired?" Clementine nodded and Zach continued, "You want me to pick you up so you can sleep a little."

Clementine looked to Zach with a smile and nodded. With that Zach picked up the small five year old.

Shawn chuckled and said, "I know that you said you weren't her dad, but you're really good with her."

Suddenly, the door to the farm house opened up and an older man looked to Shawn with relief spreading across his features. "Thank goodness, you're okay." The older man said.

The older man descended from the stairs and approached Shawn. "I wouldn't have made it without Chet." Shawn said.

"Well, I'm glad that you took him with you then." The older man remarked. He then turned to Zach and Clementine and said, "You've brought a couple of guests."

"You're boy is a lifesaver." Zach said as he started to rock Clementine in his arms.

"Glad that he could be of some use to someone." The older man said. Shawn rolled his eyes in response and the older man continued, "So, it's just you and your daughter then."

"Oh, not his daughter." Shawn said. "He's… well just some guy who found her all alone."

The older man hummed in suspicion and asked, "Are you going to be capable of taking good care of a little girl? I mean children are a completely different story compared to a dog or a cat."

"I know." Zach said. "I'm not going to lie. I have no experience with kids, but I'm going to do the best I can for her."

"No joke?" Shawn asked. "You have no experience with kids?"

"None." Zach replied.

"You could have fooled me." Shawn continued. "You gave her some food and water on the way up here and you even played a couple of games with her to keep her from getting bored."

The older man smiled upon hearing what Zach did and looked to Shawn, "Shawn go on in and check with your sister."

"Yes sir." Shawn said and he went up onto the porch and went inside.

The older man looked back to Zach and said, "I can tell you're good with her. My name's Herschel Greene."

"I'm Zach. Zachery Griffith." Zach responded.

"There's a family sleeping in the barn. That's where you and that little one can sleep." Herschel explained. "The house is full of mine, otherwise I would have let you sleep in there tonight."

"That's fine." Zach replied. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Herschel said and he went inside his house.

Zach proceeded to head to the barn. The small five year old didn't stir a bit, showing how tired she must have been. Zach approached the barn mentally sighed as he saw the barn door shut. Thankfully, Shawn came over and opened the barn door.

"Thanks." Zach whispered.

"No problem." Shawn whispered back. "Listen, could you help me fortify the fence tomorrow? My dad wouldn't understand. He thinks that what happens in the city, stays in the city. I want protect him and my family, but I can't do it alone."

"I'll do what I can." Zach whispered.

"Thanks." Shawn whispered. "I'll close the door for you. There are a couple of sleeping bags in there for you and her."

Zach nodded and he proceeded to enter the barn. He approached the two sleeping bags as Shawn closed the door. Zach adjusted his right arm from the position of being across the small child's back to holding her upper back and head. He then began to crouch down and lowered her gently onto the sleeping bag. He smiled to see that she was still asleep. He then grabbed her backpack and pulled out her stuffed lion toy and a blanket. He placed the toy close to her arms and placed the blanket over her, tucking her in to make sure she wouldn't get cold through the course of the night. It was a decent temperature right now, being in the seventies, but he wanted to make sure she was warm.

Zach took off his backpack and laid down on the sleeping bag. He took off his wedding band and looked at it. He stared off distantly as every bit of regret kept pouring through him. He then looked to Clementine and whispered, "You're all I have left. Without you… I'll just go over the edge." He finally drifted off to sleep but only for a short period of time. He was haunted by the images of the day that he became a deserter. He shot up as he recalled the ear-piercing scream of his corporal. He huffed hard trying to forget the day that he abandoned his unit. He finally was able to calm down again and he laid back down. He drifted off to sleep, thinking of the particular jam he was in.

Nobody else knows what he is, but he honestly wants to keep it that way. The fewer people who know, the better.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Well this is chapter one and if you are all interested here is the description on Zach since he is an OC:**

**At the beginning of the outbreak, Zach wore the typically issued combat utility uniform that is offered to Marines. However, two days later, he is still wearing his combat boots and green, brown, and black trousers, but he is now wearing a black t-shirt. His hair is black, he has green eyes, and is Caucasian. As stated he is twenty-six and he is very lean, yet slightly shorter than Lee, being at six-foot.**

**Clementine is wearing the same thing as she wore in season 1 episode 1, but in a smaller size since she is five in this as opposed to eight in the game.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

"Hey get up." A southern accent sounded in Zach's ear. His eyes opened and looked to a man with a bass pro shop t-shirt on, a pair of black jeans, a pair of black shoes, and an orange and white hat. He had the distinctive trait of having a fully grown mustache, where Zach never had the opportunity to let his beard grow out due to the fact that he was in the service.

Zach got up and yawned as Clementine stood by scratching her arms. "Uh… I'm itchy." Clementine remarked.

"Well that's because you slept in a barn little lady." The southern man said. "Lucky, you don't have spiders in your hair." Clementine immediately gasped and ran her hands over her black curls to check and see if there were any unwanted arachnids in it. "But I'm sure your daddy here, scared them all away, huh?"

Zach stood up and said, "I'm not her dad. Name's Zach." Zach then extended his hand out to shake hands with the southern man.

"I'm Kenny." The man said accepting the handshake.

Suddenly, a young boy ran to the entrance of the barn door and exclaimed, "Dad, we're going to build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!" The boy then rushed off in excitement.

"We better get going, or we'll never hear the end of it." Kenny remarked. Zach chuckled as he looked over to a tired Clementine. He picked her up and placed her on his hip to carry her. Rather than fighting Zach, Clementine accepted him carrying her. She wasn't exactly a morning person and she has come to trust the young man who has been looking after her up to recent. She laid her head on his shoulder as Zach and Kenny walked over to a couple of hay bales where the young boy and an overweight woman were.

"That's my boy, Ken Jr, but we all call him Duck." Kenny said.

"Dodging or quacking?" Zach asked with a chuckle.

"Quacking." Kenny chuckled.

As if on cue the young boy exclaimed, "DAAAD!"

Kenny smirked and said, "See." Zach chuckled as he and Kenny approached the overweight woman and Duck. "So you interested in going to Macon? We're thinking of heading there ourselves, and it be nice to have a strong ally like you."

"I'll have to see what Clem wants to do." Zach replied.

"Ah, got to check with the missus. I understand." Kenny said. He then turned to his son and the overweight woman and said, "Honey, Duck, this is Zach, and uh what's the girl's name?"

"Her name's Clementine." Zach replied.

"And Clementine." Kenny said as he finished introducing the two.

Kenny's wife who was the overweight woman smiled and said, "Now that is a very pretty name."

"Thanks." Clementine said weakly as she tried to wake herself up.

Shawn approached the group and said, "Well we should get to work. We've all seen what those things can do out there, so the faster we can get this fence up the better."

"I want to help build a fence." Duck said enthusiastically, trying to get confirmation from his mother.

"Yeah?" Shawn asked. "Well I do need a good foreman. You can sit on the tractor and yell at me whenever I take a water break."

"On the tractor?" Duck said enthusiastically. "Cool!"

"Duck and I will hope to it." Shawn said. He then left with Duck close behind. Zach looked to Clementine who was still fighting off sleep; she looked to him as well with a smile.

Kenny's wife, Katjaa, looked to Zach and said, "I can hold onto your little girl until she can fully wake up. We can visit in the meantime."

"I appreciate it." Zach said. He looked to Clementine and asked, "Could you let this nice lady hold you while I get our stuff packed up?" Clementine nodded her head and Zack gave the young girl to Katjaa. Katjaa placed the young girl on her lap as Kenny went off to examine a blue and silver truck that was near the gate.

* * *

Zach went into the barn and picked up Clementine's lion toy and blanket. He placed the blanket inside her backpack and grabbed a box of animal crackers that he found in the girl's house yesterday from his own backpack. "She's probably hungry." Zach said to himself as he looked at the animal crackers and back towards the house. He left the barn with his and Clementine's backpacks and approached Katjaa and Clementine.

"You have very pretty hair." Katjaa complimented.

"Thank you." Clementine replied with a squeak. Zach smiled to see how close Clementine had gotten to Katjaa, but Katjaa seemed to be a wonderful mother so it made sense that she and the child would get along.

"Hiya." Zach said as he approached the two.

"Hi Zach." Clementine chirped. She had definitely woken up and was noticeable chipper now than a few minutes ago. Her big amber orbs went to what he had in his hands and she said, "You have my lion."

"Yeah, I do." Zach said. "Here, I figured you would want him back. And here is some animal crackers for breakfast." He extended both items to her.

Clementine took both item with a thankful smile and she said, "Thank you so much, Zach." Clementine opened the box of animal crackers as she held onto her toy and she looked up. "Share?" Clementine asked.

"No, sweetie. That's your food. You go ahead and eat as much as you want." Zach said.

"Okay." She then looked to Katjaa and asked, "You want to share?"

"Oh no honey, I'm fine. Go ahead and eat." Clementine nodded and she started to munch on some of the animal crackers.

Meanwhile, Zach placed his and Clementine's backpack next to an unused hay bale and looked to Katjaa. "If Clem gets thirsty, I have a couple of water bottles in my backpack. And thank you for looking after her."

"It's no problem." Katjaa said. Katjaa then looked to Zack's backpack and perked up. "Your backpack? Were you in the army?"

"No, I was a Marine." Zach replied.

"You would know more about this whole virus thing than any of us." Katjaa said. "Do you know anything about this?"

Zach sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We were told to defend the CDC with our last breath; they said that they were trying to make a vaccine for… this." Zach said. "We were slow in discovering how they were multiplying, one bite, one scratch, that's all it took to become one of them. Unfortunately, we learned to late. Our medical facility got overran and we became outflanked."

"Oh my gosh." Katjaa said sadly.

"Yeah…" Zach said.

Clementine stopped eating the animal crackers and resealed the container. "I'm done." Clementine said. "Thanks for the animal crackers."

"You're welcome." Zach said as he took the box from her.

"Can I go explore?" Clementine asked.

"I, uh, sure." Zach said hesitantly as he recalled that Shawn asked for his help last night, but he couldn't just let the five year old go through out the farm without someone keeping an eye on her.

"Ow! Dammit!" Kenny exclaimed as he waved his hand from getting shocked by his own truck. Zach turned to the older man slightly concerned to see if he was alright.

Katjaa chuckled while shaking her head and said, "How about you go help Kenny with that truck? I'll keep an eye on your little girl in the meantime."

"Thanks." Zach said. "I need to help Shawn with the fence on top of that."

"That's fine." Katjaa said. "It's going to remind me of the old days when I had to keep an eye on Duck, except something tells me that Clementine will behave herself better."

Zach smiled and he turned to Clementine. "Clementine, make sure you stay in eye-sight. If you can't see Katjaa, she can't see you."

"Okay." Clementine squeaked.

Katjaa placed the five year old on the ground, and the curious little girl sprinted off to explore the barn. Katjaa got up and followed Clementine as Zach went up to Kenny.

"You need any help?" Zach asked.

"Nah, just touched the wrong wiring." Kenny said. He then looked up and asked, "Do YOU need any help?"

"What do you mean?" Zach asked.

"I mean in taking care of that little girl." Kenny replied as he kept his focus on Zach. "Do you know what you're doing? Did you have any kids of your own, before all of this?"

"No, I didn't have any kids." Zach said.

"You see that's what I'm worried about." Kenny said. "I'm worried that you aren't going to be able to take care of her, and that she'll be left out on a limb."

"I think I'm doing a good job so far." Zach said. "I've kept her fed, watered, checked on her several times, and I've even kept her entertained."

Kenny sighed and said, "That's exactly what I was afraid of. You're focusing too much on her base needs that you're neglectin her emotions. You got to be able to protect her, to care for her." Kenny then glared at Zach and continued, "Right now, I just don't see you offering anything like that." Kenny then went back to work, trying to bring the truck back to life. "She needs to be cared for by someone who ain't a young, heartless Marine."

Zach was completely taken aback by the insult and even felt hurt by the comment. However, Zach never liked to feud with another person and would usually avoid it like the plague. So he left Kenny and went to go talk to Shawn.

* * *

Shawn was busy building up the defenses of the fence with some plywood as Duck pretended that he was driving the tractor. Zach smirked at the young boy's excitement, reflecting on his own days as a young boy.

Shawn noticed Zach out of the corner of his eyes and said, "Hey there you are. Could you go ahead and cut a couple of those two-by-four's to length?"

"Yeah, I'm on it." Zach said as he went to a makeshift stand to cut the lumber.

He grabbed the saw and started to cut the wooden board in half as Shawn said, "My dad doesn't know how bad it is."

"I don't think anyone does. If anything, this might just be the beginning." Zach said as continued to cut the board in half.

"I saw a guy in Atlanta kill a kid. A boy." Shawn said. "Just shot him right in the face."

"Damn." Zach muttered, astonished by the extreme brutality.

"Yeah, no shit damn." Shawn said as he stared off distantly to the cornfield. He was obviously haunted by the images of the boy being murdered that day. "He didn't even hesitate, he just turned, put the barrel of the gun between the kid's eyes and pulled the trigger." Shawn then looked to Zach and continued, "I mean you don't see things like that; it's not in the movies."

"They don't fall like you think." Zach said.

"Did you have to do it?" Shawn asked.

"Do what?" Zach asked as he finally sawed through the first board.

"Kill." Shawn said. "Have you had to off one yet?"

Zach contemplated as he picked up another wooden board to cut. He placed it on the stand and started to saw the wooden board as he said, "I had to slice this poor girl's brains out."

Shawn was visibly shaken by the brutality and said, "I don't think I could off one like that." Shawn then went back to working on the fence and said, "I'm just glad that we're getting this fence built. Dad just wants to keep the family safe and thinks that inviting people in is a bigger threat than whatever is out there." Zach finished the second wooden board and proceeded to cut a third board as Shawn asked, "How about yours? How's your family?"

Zach stopped sawing and sighed. "I had to put my wife down. She was one of those things by the time that I got home. As for my and her parents, I have no idea."

"No shit." Shawn asked with surprise. "I'm sorry that you had to do that." Zach looked down at the wooden board that he was cutting but decided to leave it. "Thanks for helping me out Zach." Shawn said.

"Thanks for the ride back in Atlanta." Zach replied.

"Sure thing." Shawn said. "I couldn't leave you behind." Shawn then went back to working on the fence until he added, "By the way when you see my dad around, he might need some help in the barn."

Zach nodded and looked to the barn to see Herschel enter it. He also noticed that Clementine was looking at the chickens that were in a pin with Katjaa and decided to head over. He approached the two and asked, "You like the chickens, Clem?"

"Yeah, they're fun to watch." Clementine replied. She wrinkled her nose and said, "It smells like…"

"Manure." Zach finished.

"Manure? Is that like when a horse plops?" Clementine asked.

"Just like that." Zach replied. "It's used for fertilizer." Clementine looked to him weirdly and Zach continued, "Fertilizer is used to make plants grow."

"Oh… okay, I got it." Clementine replied.

Zach then noticed Herschel inside the barn and said, "I'll be right back." Zach said. "You stay near Katjaa, okay?"

"Okay." Clementine replied with a nod.

Zach smiled to Katjaa appreciatively. She smiled back in response but quickly directed her attention to the five year old. Zach went into the barn and approached Herschel who was using a pitchfork to clean the ground floor of the barn. Zach nodded to the older man. Herschel recognized him with a stare, but he quickly went back to work with the pitchfork.

"This is quite a piece of land." Zach complimented.

Herschel scoffed and said, "If you said twenty years ago that I'd be doing the same thing now, I would have told you that you were full of crap. It was never part of the plan, but it was part of the family and I guess so was I. Family's important. Do you believe that?"

"I was raised that way." Zach replied. "Yes."

"So where is your family?" Herschel asked.

"My wife died shortly after the outbreak." Zach replied sadly. "I had to be the one to put her down."

"Hmm, I'm sorry to hear that." Herschel replied. "And now you got this little girl to take care of. Clementine was it? How did you find her?"

"I went into her house for some food and supplies." Zach explained. "I found a hand-held radio in one of the cupboards and talked to her with it."

"Humph." Herschel muttered as he stuck the pitchfork into one of the hay bales. He approached Zach and asked, "What did you do?"

"I don't quite understand." Zach said shocked by the older man's change in attitude.

Herschel huffed unimpressed by the façade and continued, "You obviously did something wrong. You're very skittish and your hands are shaking; my boy does the same thing when he has done something wrong. Besides that, I doubt that the military would allow a capable young man such as yourself to leave so easily. Now are you going to keep lying to me? Or are you going to be honest with me?"

Zach sighed and said, "I was positioned in downtown Atlanta. Our Intel told us that reclaiming the city from the dead would be easier by capturing downtown Atlanta and spreading out from there. But then it became too heavy and we were getting surrounded. Our medical facility got overran and everything fell apart after that."

"You should probab-" Herschel began but was interrupted when both men could hear someone yell.

"What the?" Zach asked. He ran out of the barn and looked over to see Shawn who appeared to be struggling with a couple of walkers.

"Go, I'll go get my gun!" Herschel exclaimed. Zach ran past Katjaa and Clementine who were alerted to the scene by Shawn's screams. Zach reached Shawn and Duck just in time to see Duck being grabbed by a walker; thankfully, the young boy kept himself on the tractor and out of reach of the walker's mouth by holding on to the steering wheel. He screamed in horror as Shawn tried to escape from the two walkers that were trying to get him as well, but to no avail as the tractor's front wheel was on his right leg.

They both screamed in horror as Zach looked to the scene deciding who he should help out first. He made his decision and ran to Duck. He wrestled the boy from the walker's grasp and got away from the fence with the boy clinging to Zach.

Zach huffed as Kenny ran over and grabbed Duck from his grasp, comforting the boy saying, "I got you."

Zach quickly shifted gears and he ran to the front of the tractor to push it off of Shawn. "Kenny, help Zach!" Shawn exclaimed. However Kenny immediately ran off ignoring Shawn's pleas. "Kenny!" Suddenly both could hear the cracking of wood and Shawn exclaimed, "They're almost through."

Zach huffed as he thought of a new strategy since the current one wasn't working. He quickly placed his hands under the tractor and using all of his strength he tried to lift the front end of the tractor. This of course didn't work as the tractor proved to be too heavy. Suddenly, wooden planks gave way and the two walkers fell on top of Shawn. Zach backed away upon instinct as one of the walkers bit down onto Shawn's leg. Shawn screamed in pain as the other walker bit down on his neck. This stopped his screams and both walkers continued to feed on him. Herschel finally arrived with a shotgun, but he was too late. He glared at the walkers and fired at the one chomping on Shawn's neck. The other one that was eating Shawn's leg growled, but was quickly shot by Herschel. Finally the third walker that tried to bite Duck came towards the dying Shawn but was shot dead by Herschel.

Herschel looked over his son worriedly, as Zach picked up on some whimpering that came from Clementine. She looked on horrified by what had happened and she was on the verge of tears. Zach went up to her as Kenny and his family approached Herschel. Kenny had an especially regretful look aimed towards Herschel.

Clementine continued to whimper as Zach crouched down in front of her. He wiped the tears that came down from her eyes. She looked to him with tear-filled eyes and she finally hugged him tightly around the neck, allowing herself to cry.

"Sh… it's okay, honey." Zach said as he rubbed circles on her back to soothe her. "It's okay."

"GET THE F*** OUT OF HERE!" Herschel could be heard screaming from behind Zach. Clementine gasped in between her cries upon hearing Herschel, but Zach quickly calmed her recent fright by picking her up and rocking her in his arms. She kept her grip around his neck and closed her eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry." Kenny apologized.

"YOU'RE SORRY?" Herschel inquired. "Your son is alive, you don't get to be sorry!" Zach approached them as he continued to rock the five year old in his arms in an attempt to calm her down. "And you." Herschel said as he looked to Zach. "You tried to help him, but this piece of shit let him die."

"You can't blame Kenny for something like this." Zach said. "Crap just happened. There's no one to be blamed for this."

Kenny smiled with a bit of a surprised look. He was surprised that Zach defended him since he was being rather mean to him earlier. However, Herschel was angry at Zach for defending Kenny and he turned to his deceased son. "Just go." Herschel said sadly. "Get out and NEVER come back."

Clementine seemed to have relaxed in Zach's arms as the conflict came to its end with him and her back on the road. If anything, she felt more like deadweight. Zach shook her in his arms but in response to his efforts, he only got a dribble of droll on his t-shirt which indicated that she wore herself out from crying and had gone to sleep. "You got that ride to Macon if you want it." Kenny said as he passed by Zach.

Zach nodded and Kenny's family left to grab his and Clementine's backpacks and placed them in the truck. Zach looked down to Herschel one last time, looking to the older man remorsefully until he moved on.

Zach sat down in the vehicle and adjusted the young girl to where she would be sitting on his lap. He succeeded in waking the child to which he apologized and put her back to sleep by rubbing her back on the way down to Macon.

**Hours Later**

They were finally in the city of Macon, but as luck would have it the truck was running on fumes. By this point, Clementine had woken up from her nap and was coloring in one of the coloring books that Zach had grabbed from her house. He held the crayon box for her as she continued to color.

"You're doing a good job at staying in between the lines." Zach said.

"Thanks." Clementine said as she looked to her guardian with a smile.

"I remember that I couldn't do that when I was your age." Zach said. "I was too busy thinking of another thing that I could get into or another thing that I could break."

Suddenly, the vehicle puffed. Clementine jumped slightly and the vehicle started to puff some more. "What's happening?" Clementine asked.

"We're out of gas?" Zach asked Kenny.

Kenny looked to Zach and said, "We've been runin on fumes for the last ten minutes, so yeah…" Finally, the vehicle came to a stop in the middle of the town. Zach quickly placed all of Clementine's things in her backpack and the group exited the vehicle. "That's as far as she's taking us." Kenny remarked.

"Then it's far enough." Zach said as he handed Clementine her backpack. The five went towards the center of town with Clementine holding Zach's hand. Zach kept his right hand over his katana waiting for any walkers to come at them. They walked up the street surprised to see the once buzzing city reduced to a torn apart wasteland with garbage, wreckage from nearby structures, and abandoned cars littering the street. Zach noticed the local pharmacy which had become very popular up to recent do to the eldest son of the store owners committing double homicide.

Clementine looked to him and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Zach started to say until they both could hear Duck.

"Look!" Duck exclaimed as he saw someone crouched down beside a truck that was several feet away.

Kenny looked to the man that was several feet away and yelled, "Hey there, you friendly? Truck's out of gas." Suddenly the man looked up and growled sickeningly. Its grotesque features and milky white eyes indicated that it wasn't a man at all, but instead a walker. "F***!" Kenny exclaimed.

Suddenly more and more walkers started to appear and surrounded the group. "We're trapped!" Katjaa exclaimed.

Suddenly, the four could hear Duck scream in horror as a walker growled, satisfied that it had captured a potential meal. Duck's family looked on in horror as Duck wrestled with the creature, which was short lived do to a shot that came from a woman in a white blouse, black skirt, black stockings, and a pair of black heels. She fired off several shots and killed some of the other walkers as Katjaa and Kenny helped Duck to his feet.

"Quick run!" A man in a baseball hat exclaimed. He appeared to be a couple of years younger than Zach. He wore a leather jacket over a red t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of black shoes. Kenny and his family rushed towards the young man. Zach quickly followed but soon he realized that he was dragging Clementine along. She was frozen in fear as more and more walkers headed for them. "Come on man! Run!" The man in the baseball hat exclaimed. Zach proceeded to pick up Clementine and carried her into the drugstore. As soon as Zach passed the man in the baseball hat, he locked the gate with a combination lock and ran inside himself.

"We can't take risks like this!" A woman in a tank-top hissed as Zach placed Clementine on the ground. She grabbed his hand immediately out of fear.

He smiled to her and said, "It's okay sweetie, we're safe now." Clementine nodded and she released his hand. "I got to go talk to these people. I'll be right back." Clementine nodded and Zach went over to the crowd.

"We can't just let people die either." The markswoman replied.

"When I say those doors stay shut no matter what, I f****** mean it!" The woman hissed back. "We don't know who these people are. They could be dangerous."

"Or even worse, they could have led them right to us." An older man hissed. He and the woman in the tank-top appeared to be related.

"Where in the hell is your humanity?" The markswoman asked. "They would have died out there."

"Then we let them." The older man said. "We're in a war zone."

"We have kids with us." Zach said.

"I see one little girl." The older man said. As the older man said this, Clementine grabbed Zach's hand and squeezed his hand to get his attention.

"What is it?" Zach asked.

He could see now that she was shifting her weight from one foot to the other and she said, "I…I have to pee."

"I would go back out there in a heartbeat." The man in the baseball hat said to the woman in the tank-top who must have been the leader of the group.

"I bet you would, you're just a stupid kid." The woman in the tank-top replied.

"Can you hold it?" Zach asked.

Clementine continued to shift her weight from foot to foot and she whimpered, "No."

"Holy shit!" The older man said as he looked over to Duck and Katjaa. "One of them was bitten."

"He wasn't bitten." Zach said.

"The hell he wasn't." The older man snapped. "We have to end this now." He then approached the mother and son, but Kenny got between them.

"Over my dead body." Kenny said.

"Zach!" Clementine pleaded. Zach looked down to see Clementine. She was practically jumping up and down at this point and whimpering even more.

"Sorry, sweetie." Zach apologized. "Come on." He then escorted her towards for the bathroom as the conversation started to intensify.

"Don't you f****** people get it!" The older man exclaimed. "We've already seen this happen! We let someone in the group and we all end up bitten."

Kenny's glare went towards Zach momentarily and shouted, "Hey, how about a little help here?"

They all turned to Zach and he said, "I can't. I got to get Clem to the bathroom." Zach replied.

"Are you f****** kidding me?" Kenny snapped. "You can do this another time. This asshole want to kick my boy out, now! I need your help!"

Zach shook his head and said, "I'll help you out as soon as I get Clementine taken care of." With that Zach went up to the bathroom door and pushed on it. However, he didn't get any results and the door remained in its closed position. "The door's locked." He then looked to the group with Kenny getting more and more worked up. "Hey!" Zach shouted which caught everyone off guard. "Where's the key?"

"I think it's behind the counter." The markswoman replied.

Zach nodded and he quickly ran behind the counter to search for the object. Meanwhile, Clementine continued to shift her weight from one foot to the other, until finally Zach found the key. He jumped over to the counter and ran to the door. He unlocked it as the older man exclaimed, "He will and we're tossing him out right now!"

"F*** off!" Kenny exclaimed as he punched the older man in the face. The older man shrugged it off and responded with a hard punch to Kenny's face as well. Kenny landed flat on the floor to which Katjaa screamed. Zach looked onto the scene while he unlocked the door to the restroom not noticing the growling that was coming from the bathroom. He turned around just in time to be tackled by a walker which was now in the process of trying to chomp down on his neck.

Clementine squealed in horror as Zach struggled to push the walker off of him. He finally mustered up the strength required to kick the walker away from him and he shouted, "Get off me!" He kicked the walker off and it growled at him momentarily before having its head explode from a gunshot…

…**To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach huffed as the situation with the walker ended. The walker was dead on the ground with a gunshot through its head. He turned to Clementine, thankful to see that she was alright. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Zach asked. She nodded slowly which easily indicated that she was scared by the situation. Zach turned to see the markswoman lowering her gun. She was the reason why the walker was dead on the ground.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Zach got up and said, "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks." The markswoman nodded, but the situation soon worsened.

Suddenly, the whole building creaked and moaned from the walkers wanting to get in from outside. The sound of the gunshot acted as a dinner bell for the relentless creatures that were outside. "Uh…guys." The young man in the baseball hat said.

The entire group began to hunker down in their respective position. Clementine clung to Zach afraid that the walkers would get in. In response, Zach placed a supportive hand on her back to comfort the frightened five year old. "Everyone get down and stay quiet." The woman in the tank-top said sharply.

"They're going to get in." The older man said worriedly as he poked his head above the shelving.

"Shut up!" Kenny spat. Suddenly, there were several shots outside. By the sounds of it, the gunshots must have been fired several blocks from the pharmacy.

"Wait a minute, that can't be what I think it is." Zach said; he thought it was the military.

"Well thank God for whatever it is." The young man with the baseball hat said.

The gunfire had lured the walker's attention from outside, since the moaning and groaning of the walkers started to fade away and the constant banging on the building ceased. The older man got up with an angry glare directed towards the markswoman and said, "We almost died because of that bitch and her itchy trigger-finger! That was stupid! That was—Ow oh ow!" The older man grabbed his left arm in intense pain, and he fell to the ground.

"Dad!" The woman in the tank-top exclaimed and she rushed by his side.

"What's wrong with him?" Zach asked.

"It's his heart." The woman in the tank-top responded

"…my pills." The older man said with pain lacing his voice.

"Nitroglycerin pills?" Katjaa asked.

"Yes, we've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here." The woman in the tank-top explained. "Please get behind the counter, where the pills are."

"We'll try to get in there." Zach said.

"Thank you so much." The woman said as she continued to calm her father down.

"I'm starting to think that this place isn't a permanent solution." The young man with the baseball hat said.

"You gotta point. This place ain't exactly Fort Knox." Kenny said.

"What are you thinking?" Zach asked.

"We need to get enough gas for your people and mine. I'll head down to the Motor Inn and siphon some gas." The man with the baseball hat said.

"You know you're way around? Local?" Zach asked.

"Born and raised." The man in the baseball hat said. "The name's Glenn." He extended his hand to Zach to which he accepted it and shook his hand.

"I'm Zach." Zach introduced himself. "If you're going to do that, here's a walkie-talkie." Zach said as he handed Glenn the hand-held radio. "No point in cutting yourself off from the rest of us. Clementine's got the other one. Check in with her if you get in a tight spot. Hopefully, you won't have to use it." Glenn gave an appreciative nod and headed out through the back exit.

"You what's your name?" Kenny asked the woman in the tank-top.

"It's Lilly; my dad's name is Larry." The woman replied

"Keep a good eye on him. These boys'll help you get that medicine." Kenny said.

"You keep an eye on that front door." Kenny said to a plump man. "You're our look out."

"It's Doug, you got it." The plump man introduced himself.

"And I'm Carley." The markswoman said as she walked next to Doug.

"Ok, Carley, you shift with Doug when he needs it. You're a good shot; I'd like to keep ya that way." Kenny said

"You got it boss." Carley replied.

Kenny looked to Zach and said, "Now go get him those pills."

Zach nodded, but then he could hear Clementine whimpering again. "Zach, I-I really got to go! I really got to go!" Clementine whimpered.

"Sorry sweetie." Zach said as he took her hand and escorted her to the bathroom.

After helping Clementine use the bathroom, Zach took her over to a couple of crates to sit down and asked, "Are you hungry? Or thirsty?"

"Yeah, I am a bit hungry and thirsty." Clementine replied. Zach took off his backpack and handed her the unfinished box of animal crackers along with a bottle of water. She accepted both with a smile and said, "Thanks Zach."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Zach replied. "I'm going to go ahead and look for the keys to the pharmacy to help Larry. If you need anything, come and get me."

Zach then got up as Clementine said, "Okay."

Zach went over to Lilly and Larry and asked, "Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't think that I got your name." Lilly said ignoring Zach's question. She also gave him a slight glare.

"It's Zach." Zach replied.

"I was just doing what I had to earlier." Lilly said as she got up from tending to her father.

"Everyone was." Zach stated.

"My dad's heart is acting up again and I'm powerless to help." Lilly explained. She then glared at Zach and continued, "And your friend's violence from earlier didn't help."

"Well what do you expect me to do?" Zach asked being fed up with everyone always finding a way to blame him for something. "I'm not his freaking keeper. I can't control his actions."

"No… I guess not." Lilly said as she lost her scowl and looked to Zach apologetically. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't blame you for what happened, especially when you had nothing to do with it. I'm just worried about my dad."

Zach calmed down and asked, "Has he had attacks like this in the past?"

"Yeah, he had a couple of really bad ones where I had to take him to the hospital." Lilly explained.

"That's not really an option, right now." Zach said.

Lilly nodded and said, "Yeah…" She then looked over to Clementine who was entertaining herself by coloring in a coloring book. "Where's her mom?"

"Savannah, I think." Zach replied.

"Oh, you guys aren't together then." Lilly said

"What?" Zach asked confused by the statement until he realized that Lilly thought that Clementine was his daughter. "Oh no." Zach said. "I'm not her dad. She was all by herself when I found her. I don't think her parents made it."

"Oh." Lilly said sympathetically as she stared at the girl. "She's lucky to have you."

"I'd say the feeling's mutual." Zach said. "I lost my wife the day before I found her, so… she has given me hope for a better future, to have someone to look after." Lilly nodded with a smile as Zach said, "I'd better get going. I got to find the keys."

"Alright, good luck." Lilly said as she crouched down to tend to her dad. As Zach left, Larry sent a glare towards Zach.

Zach went up to Kenny and his family. "Is Duck alright?"

"Yes, I think he was just in shock of what happened." Katjaa said.

"We're lucky as hell that no one got grabbed on the way in." Kenny said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Zach said.

"Still, you didn't help much." Kenny said with a scowl. "That old bastard wanted to kick my son out, but all you cared about was getting that girl of yours to the bathroom."

"Well that does make sense, doesn't it Kenny?" Zach said. "After all, I'm just a young, heartless Marine."

Katjaa gasped upon hearing what Zach said and looked to Kenny. "Kenny, did you really say that to him?"

"I…I…" Kenny started to stutter and he looked down sadly.

"And you said that to me before I saved your son and defended you from Herschel." Zach said with a glare.

Zach then started to walk away until Kenny grabbed his arm. "Zach stop." Kenny said remorsefully. Zach turned around and looked to him with his arms folded across his chest. "I am really sorry for what I said at Herschel's farm. I had no right in saying that to you. If anything up to this point, you've proved me wrong. You're doing a good job of taking care of Clementine. And I'm very thankful that you saved Duck back at Herschel's."

Zach sighed and said, "It's alright, just know that I'm trying my best to help out your family. But you have to realize that Clementine is my main priority."

"I understand." Kenny said sadly. "And sorry, that I gave you so much shit earlier. I know that you're trying your best and I haven't been quite fair with you."

"It's fine." Zach said. "For now, let's put any past grievances against each other behind us and look for the key to the pharmacy."

Kenny smiled to Zach and said, "Sounds good to me."

Zach left the family with a nod and went to up to Carley. It appeared that she was working on a wireless radio, but she stopped messing with the device and looked up to Zach as he approached her. "You're an impressive shot." Zach complimented.

"Well you don't f*** with a reporter especially one that is three days out from her last cup of coffee." Carley said.

"You're a reporter?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, I'm a reporter for WABE Atlanta." Carley said.

Zach looked to her questioningly and asked, "Have any former police or army training?"

"Nope." Carley said as she shook her head. "I took some self-defense classes. Who would have ever thought that they would pay off?"

Zach chuckled and asked, "Do you happen to know where the keys are?"

"I have no idea." Carley said. "I do recall Larry dragging an elderly couple from the office and throwing them out into the alley. Neither one made it… And he was afraid that they were bit." Carley then eyed Clementine and smiled to Zach. "You're a good caregiver." Carley complimented.

Zach smirked and said, "To tell you the truth, I've always wanted to be a father. The only problem was that I got shipped off to Afghanistan almost immediately after I got married."

"You're married?" Carley asked.

"I was married." Zach said sadly. "My wife is a casualty to this virus."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Carley said.

"I've had time to grieve." Zach replied. He then looked to the radio that Carley was working on earlier. "Something wrong with the radio?"

"Yeah, I can't seem to get it to work." Carley said. "I've been trying to get the thing to work since we got here so I could hear in from my station."

"Could I take a look?" Zach asked.

"Sure, here." Carley said as she handed the radio to Zach. Zach accepted the radio and looked over the device.

He first turned up the volume, with no results. He then turned the device over and extended the antenna, but once again nothing seemed to work. Finally, Zach opened up the battery compartment and he said, "Bingo."

"What? What is it?" Carley asked.

"You had the batteries in backwards." Zach said as he adjusted the batteries in their correct position.

The radio came to life as the anchor exclaimed, "…still no word from the military outpost in downtown Atlanta. More reports of the virus have spread as the body count has now reached over one million."

"The station is still okay!" Carley exclaimed.

"We're still…" The anchor started to say but he trailed off. "I-I'm sorry, but my producers are telling me that we're going off the air."

"Steve…" Carley said sadly.

"God bless America and God bless…" Suddenly a burst of static came through the speaker which made anything else that the anchor was going to say inaudible. Suddenly, the signal stopped, leaving the room in silence.

Carley looked down sadly upon the signal dying out. "Who knows, maybe they're okay." Zach told Carley

"I…I hope so." Carley said distantly. "I mean just because they went off the air doesn't mean they're gone."

"Exactly." Zach said. He then looked over to Doug who was keeping a constant look outside the door. Carley noticed his line of vision and looked to Doug with a noticeable smile. "I should probably go and check with Doug on how our defenses are holding up."

"Yeah… uh that sounds good." Carley stuttered.

"Is everything okay?" Zach asked with a curious look.

Carley hesitated for a couple of seconds until she said, "That guy, Doug, saved my life."

"No kidding?" Zach said.

"Yeah, my news vehicle was getting ripped apart by those ghouls, or whatever, and then out of nowhere, that guy, Doug, just came to the rescue." Carley said.

"You never know who the heroic ones are going to be." Zach said.

"Yeah…" Carley said as she looked to Doug with an affectionate stare. She shook her head to refocus and looked to Zach. "Anyway thanks for helping with the radio. I should try to find out if there are any other stations that are still active. Never hurts having more information."

"Good idea." Zach said. "I'll go help Doug." Zach left Carley and approached the plump nerd as he kept a vigilant eye over the situation.

"Hey Doug." Zach said.

"Oh hi." Doug said. Doug looked to the former Marine and asked, "You want to go outside and take a look?"

"I'm not suicidal yet." Zach chuckled.

"No, the gate out there is locked, so we'll be okay." Doug said.

"Huh, alright then." Zach said. The two proceeded to exit the pharmacy and saw several walkers roaming the untidy streets. A pack of walkers were noisily eating a newly captured meal which was indistinguishable due to walkers surrounding it. The smell was overwhelming and made both men flinch. The smell was a cocktail of the worst smells that one could encounter in life. The smell of death was most prominent. "They just…" Zach started to say.

"…Eat." Doug said, finishing Zach's sentence. "From what I can tell that's all they care about."

"And if one grabs you…?" Zach said.

"They eat you and whatever is left comes back as one of them." Doug said as he recovered from the pungent odor. "I think it's going to take a lot longer to figure this out than a couple of days."

"Yeah this might take a couple of years to figure out." Zach said as he crouched down. Doug joined him as Zach looked around the street. He noticed a very hasty fortification from the building across the street. Zach ignored it and continued to look around until he eyed a walker that was pinned down by a telephone pole. This particular walker wore a green scrub. Zach pointed to the walker and said, "That walker, right there… it looks like he's wearing a scrub, and the nearest hospital is in Atlanta."

"So that means that this guy might have worked here?" Doug asked.

"Yeah." Zach said. "Have you guys checked the whole pharmacy?"

"Yeah but we still couldn't find the keys anywhere." Doug replied.

Zach thought for a moment and said, "Let's go back in. I want to do a thorough sweep of the office."

"Okay." Doug said. The two men got up and headed back inside. Doug went back to being the lookout for the group and Zach went toward the office.

Clementine noticed her guardian had returned and got up to follow him. She placed her crayons and coloring book on the ground to follow the young man. Zach heard the pitter patter of the child's flats and looked over to see her. "You want to come help me look around?" Zach asked. Clementine merely nodded while looking at him with her wide eyes.

Zach opened the door and the two walked inside the office to be greeted at a grizzly scene. A cot was on the ground and was covered in blood. Clementine put on a brave face but was clearly frightened by the scene. "It's okay if you want to leave." Zach said.

Clementine shook her head and said, "I'm okay."

"Well alright, just tell me if it gets too much for you." Zach said with concern lacing his voice.

"Okay." Clementine said. Thankfully, the rest of the room looked decent. A first-aid kit sat on the table which piqued Zach's interest. Medicine was just as, if not more, important than food and water. Additionally, the room had a couple desks, one in which was blocking the door way. Zach looked up to a small television that sat on one of the shelves of the desk.

He looked back to the desk that was blocking the door to the pharmacy. The desk had a pallet in front of it which he moved out of the way as a wooden cane fell to the ground. The cane grabbed Clementine's attention and she eyed the cane on the ground. She slowly approached the object with her right arm clinging to her left arm. Zach finished placing the pallet on the other side of the room so it was out of the way and looked back to see the five year old staring at the walking stick. Zach chuckled and he went up to the girl. "You know what this is?" Zach asked as he picked up the cane.

"No." Clementine replied as she looked up to the cane that was now in Zach's hands.

"This is a cane. It helps people walk when they get older." Zach said.

"Oh, so are they sick?" Clementine asked.

"Nah, they just have a little harder time walking around, that's where the cane comes in. It helps them get around." Zach explained as he placed the cane on another desk.

Clementine nodded understandingly as Zach came back to move the desk. "Can I help?" Clementine asked as she walked up next to the former Marine. She looked at him with an ecstatic smile and her right arm was no longer holding her left.

"Sure, honey. Just be careful." Zach said. Clementine nodded and went to the desk ready to pull. "Okay, ready? Pull on three. One… Two… Three." With that said, the two pulled the desk both grunting from having to move the heavy desk. Clementine used a good portion of her own strength to pull the desk forward, but it was only through Zach's strength that the desk moved towards them. Clementine huffed a little but remained ready to help Zach. Zach looked to her and asked, "How are you holding up?"

"It's okay. It's not that heavy." Clementine said. Zach knew that was a lie; she struggled with the desk, but it wasn't the manual labor that he was worried about.

"How about everything else?" Zach asked.

"It's not good." Clementine said as she looked down sadly.

"No, it's not." Zach said. "You ready to move this a little more?" Clementine nodded and Zach started to push the desk so it was parallel to a spot on the wall. For Clementine's part, she managed to push the desk a couple of inches to the left so it wouldn't collide with the desk next to it when they would push it back.

Clementine stood straight up as Zach leaned forward to see if the desk could be used to fit into the empty space. "I'm always scared of them." Clementine admitted as she lowered her head. Zach looked over to her and walked up to her. He crouched down to her height as she continued, "I'm scared of the monsters."

"Sweetie, I think we're all scared." Zach said as he placed a couple of fingers under her chin and lightly pushed her head up. "We're all scared of them, Clem."

"But you're not. All the adults aren't." Clementine said.

"People have different ways of coping with their emotions, Clem." Zach said. "Remember how Lilly and Larry were being mean and angry earlier?"

"Yeah." Clementine said with a head nod.

"Well, they were being that way because they were scared. They thought Duck was going to become a monster." Zach explained. "You're not alone, Clem. Everyone's scared and some of them are scared for different reasons."

Clementine had a questionable stare aimed at Zach and asked, "Are you scared, Zach? You said everyone was scared for different reasons, so that means you're scared too, right?"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm scared that I won't be able to protect everyone, including you." Zach said. "But you know we're going to get better. We're going to adapt and one day, you won't be scared of them. You're still a child, Clem. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. I'll always be there to protect you."

Clementine smiled to her guardian's word of encouragement and said, "Thanks Zach."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Remember you can talk to me about anything." Zack said.

"There is one other thing." Clementine said. "How will my parents know where I am?"

"They'll track us down. You're parents are probably very resourceful, so don't worry." Zach said.

"Okay, I have my walkie-talkie in case they try that way." Clementine said.

"Yeah, that's good. Keep close to me until then, okay?" Zach said. Clementine nodded. She then looked back to the desk. Zach followed her line of vision and asked, "You ready to go through one last round?"

"Uh-huh." Clementine replied with a nod. The Marine and five year old pushed against the desk and pushed it back into the empty space, but suddenly, Clementine jumped and exclaimed, "Ow!" She held her left hand pinky finger. From the finger came a decent stream of blood.

"Are you okay?" Zach asked.

"I hurt my finger." Clementine said with a slight whimper.

"Is it bleeding?" Zach asked as he got closer to examine her finger.

"Yes, it hurt." Clementine said as tears started to form in her eyes.

Zach picked her up and placed her on the desk. He quickly went over to grab a bandage from the first-aid kit and returned to the girl. "Let me see your finger." Zach said. Clementine obliged which gave Zach the opportunity to wrap her finger with the bandage. "There we go, all better." Zack said encouragingly to Clementine. His smile was infectious and made Clementine smile as well.

After helping Clementine with her injured finger, Zach looked back to the pharmacy door and said, "Well all we need now is the key." Zach looked through a couple of the drawers but only managed to find a universal remote. Zach sighed and said, "I don't think we're going to find anything in here." He went up to the five year old and picked her up from the desk. "Let's head back to the others." Zach told the young girl in his arms.

"Okay." Clementine said as she laid her head on his shoulder. Zach smirked at how the five year old had gotten more comfortable with him carrying her and headed for the door. On his way towards the door he stepped on something that made a shattering sound. "What was that?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know." Zach said as he walked backwards and stared at the ground. He looked down to a small picture frame of an older family. He squatted down to pick up the picture from its shattered frame and stood back up to look at the picture. "Well how about that." Zach said.

"What? What is it?" Clementine asked as she looked at the picture.

"Doug and I saw a walker outside who looks like the guy in this photo. He looks to be about my age." Zach explained. "He might have the keys with him." Zach proceeded to head back into the pharmacy and placed Clementine on the crates that she was sitting on earlier. He handed her the coloring book that she was working on earlier and said, "Thanks for helping me out Clem."

"You're welcome." Clementine replied.

Zach got back up to check with Doug about the walker outside until he could hear Glenn's voice from the walkie-talkie that was in a side pouch on Clementine's backpack. "Hey this is Glenn. Um, I'm in a bit of a jam." Clementine picked up the radio from the side pouch and looked at it as Glenn continued, "Little girl could you put your daddy on the phone…or walkie?"

Clementine handed the radio to Zach and he asked, "Hey Glenn, it's Zach. What's up?"

"Well I'm down at the Motor Inn and I'm stuck." Glenn said from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

"Stuck?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, I had a chance of getting some supplies, and I saw a girl." Glenn explained. "She said that I was bit, but I wasn't. She ran into an apartment room, and then a bunch of these dead guys came and got the drop on me."

"You hurt?" Zach asked.

"No but I do need help." Glenn said.

"Alright, we're gonna send some people down." Zach said.

"Awesome, I'll sit tight till then." Glenn said and the conversation with the walkie-talkies ended.

Zach looked to Clementine and said, "I better hold onto this, just in case Glenn tries to contact us again." Clementine nodded with a smile aimed at the Marine. Zach smiled back before clipping the radio to his belt.

Kenny approached Zach and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that Doug ain't too great around walkers. You got your family to worry about. And…" Zach paused as he looked to Clementine innocently going back to coloring. "…And I don't want to leave Clementine here by herself."

"Katjaa and I'll keep an eye on her." Kenny said. "You go ahead and take Carley to get Glenn back."

"Okay, but I am counting on you." Zach said.

"Don't worry, Kat and I will watch her like she was our own." Kenny said

"Come on, we gotta go get Glenn." Carley said.

Zach sighed and said, "Okay." He walked up to Clementine who was still coloring until she noticed her guardian in front of her. "Clem, if anything happens while I'm gone, run over to Kenny and his family. He'll keep you safe."

"Okay. Be careful, Zach." Clementine said as she wrapped her arms tightly around Zach's neck.

"I will, sweetie." Zach said as he hugged her back and patted her back to finish the hug. Clementine understood and released Zach from the hug. She watched on as Zach and Carley left the pharmacy through the use of the alley door in the office.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter is a little short.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: As you all probably know, the last three chapters were short and had a ton of character development with little action. That changes in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Carley and Zach finally arrived at the motor inn which was surrounded by walkers. They limped aimlessly as the former reporter and Marine made their approach. In the distance, both could see Glenn pizza delivery car. Zach looked to Carley to ask where Glenn could be hiding since his car was still nearby, but he was met with a surprise to see a walker suddenly shoot up right next to the former reporter. The walker must have been inactive until it smelled the desirable human scent that came from the reporter. "Shit. Get down." Zach whispered as he grabbed the reporter's arm and knelt down behind the brick gate of the motor inn. The walker growled in Zach's and Carley's direction but didn't see anything and limped off in defeat.

"Thanks." Carley whispered. "That was too close."

"No problem." Zack replied.

Suddenly, there was a loud creaking sound that came from the door of the ice machine behind the two survivors. Carley and Zach both got up and aimed their handguns toward the machine. The last thing Zach wanted to do was fire his handgun since doing so would attract more walkers...

After a couple of seconds, the door to the ice machine flew open to reveal Glenn. "Glenn." Carley spat.

"You're crazy." Zach added. "Carley and I were about to put more holes in you than Swiss cheese."

Glenn climbed out of the ice machine and said, "Sorry it was the only place that I could find to hide."

"Well that was easy; now let's get out of here." Carley whispered. She didn't like the situation with having to deal with an unknown amount of walkers.

"Not yet, there's a girl that's trapped up there; we have to help her." Glenn said.

"What, no. We got to go now." Carley said.

"We can't just leave her." Glenn argued.

"Damn right we can't." Zach said.

"You guys are suicidal over a girl!" Carley said in a sharp whisper.

"Hey, I'm saving her with or without you." Glenn responded.

"In my heart, I know that I'm still a Marine." Zach said. "I can't just leave someone to die. It goes against everything I was taught."

Carley looked down contemplating between helping the girl or not. She reached a decision and said, "Ok, fine. Let's go save Glenn's damsel in distress." With Carley finally agreeing to help the trapped girl, Glenn, Zach, and Carley approached another section of the brick gate. Zach peeked his head over the gate and could identify two walkers; one of the walkers was eating an old corpse as the other walked aimlessly. "How do you want do this?" Carley asked Zach as he ducked under the wall again.

"Preferably, we need to take these things out quietly. Noise attracts them." Zach said.

"Okay, what do you need us to do?" Glenn asked.

"Stay here, for now." Zach said.

"What?" Carley whispered sharply. "Look Marine, you're going to need our help. You can't take all of these things on at once."

"I need to know what we're dealing with first." Zach said. "If there are twenty of these things behind that RV or that car, then stealth won't matter. I just need to see what we're up against."

"Okay man, scout out the area. We'll stay here." Glenn said.

"Alright." Zach said. He turned to Carley and asked, "Carley?" He wanted her assurance that she would stay with Glenn so that he could scout out the motor inn alone.

Carley sighed and said, "Okay, fine. Just don't get yourself killed."

Zach scoffed and said, "Haven't quite succeeded in that area yet." Zach passed by the two and headed for cover next to the truck. He looked over to see an inactive walker laying against the parked car. He then quickly looked further down towards the stairs that led to the second story and sighed in relief upon seeing no other walkers.

Zach approached the walker while drawing his katana. The walker looked to Zach and groaned at him as the Marine quickly slashed the walker. It fell to the ground dead which gave Zach a new vantage point. He ducked behind the car to avoid being seen and looked up to the balcony on the second floor of the motor inn. He saw two walkers trying to break down one of the doors which was accompanied by the loud sobs of a young woman.

Satisfied that he knew what to expect from right side of the motor inn, Zach returned to the brick gate and remained crouched down as he approached Carley and Glenn.

"How'd it go, man?" Glenn asked.

"Good, but I still need to check out the other side." Zach replied. Once again, he left the two and headed for the RV.

He could faintly hear Carley mutter, "He's going to get himself killed." Zach ignored Carley's word and was now in front of the RV. He looked to the other side of the vehicle and could see only one walker limping aimlessly. He was relieved upon seeing only one walker, but he remained skeptical that rescuing the young woman was going to be that easy, but he had examined the entirety of the motor inn. There were no more walkers, unless they were in the rooms which seemed unlikely.

With his examination of the area finished, Zach returned to Glenn and Carley. "Well? Are you done yet?" Carley inquired. Her nervousness was high; she wanted to return to the pharmacy to make sure that the rest of the group was okay.

"I am." Zach said. "There are three walkers on the ground. There was four, but I took one out while I was examining the area. However, there is another that could reanimate any minute now." Zach then gestured to the balcony and continued, "There are two walkers up there, but they shouldn't bother us. They're too distracted by the girl inside the room."

"Okay, so what now?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah, what was the point of all that?" Carley asked.

"The point is that now I know how to go about attacking the walkers." Zach said. "I know where they're coming from and how many there are. That is strategy and it's very important."

Carley and Glenn nodded in understanding. "Do you need our help this time?" Carley asked.

"Nah." Zach said. "I can handle it, but be ready to move." Zach got up and jumped over the brick gate. His movements were picked up by the closest walker which was feasting on a corpse. It growled as it stared towards the approaching marine. Zach ran towards the walker and delivered a quick slash to its skull. The walker fell to the ground. Zach looked up to see that the other two walkers had noticed him and were starting to limp towards him.

Zach quickly stabbed the eaten corpse, so he wouldn't have to deal with a possible walker from behind. He withdrew his katana from the corpse's skull and looked up to stab one of the approaching walkers. The other walker soon closed the gap between it and its pray and became dangerously close to him which made Zach abandon his katana in the skull of the previously killed walker. He backed away to orient himself and form a new idea on how to take down the last walker. It didn't take long for Zach to figure out a new idea. He kicked the walker in the leg which made the creature fall to the ground with a growl. Zach ran past the creature and grabbed his katana from the skull of the last walker that he killed. Zach turned his attention to the last walker which struggled to get up from the blow to its leg. Zach finished the walker off with one quick slash which made the creature fall forward with a thud.

Zach looked around the area for anymore walkers before he looked over to see Carley and Glenn watching on in amazement from the gate. Zach gestured them to join him to which Carley and Glenn obliged by going around the gate and approached Zach. "Dude, that was sick." Glenn whispered enthusiastically.

"Yeah, no kidding." Carley said. She was impressed by Zach's skill and asked, "Where'd you learn that from?"

"My father-in-law taught me." Zach said. He looked up to the balcony to see that the walkers were still banging on the door. He then turned to his allies and continued, "Let's finish this."

Carley and Glenn nodded and the three approached the set of stairs that would lead to the second floor. "Oh snap!" Glenn said enthusiastically. He went up and grabbed an axe from the hooks that kept it in place and looked over the weapon.

"Seriously?" Carley asked.

"Yeah, it might come in handy." Zach said as he looked up the stairs. He turned to Carley and Glenn and said, "How about you go stay back, just in case things go to shit up there?"

"That's real encouraging." Carley said.

"Don't worry, man. We're on the home-stretch." Glenn said encouragingly. "You're solid after this."

Zach nodded appreciatively to Glenn and started to walk up the stairs. He approached the walkers as they continued to pound on the door. They were oblivious that the ex-Marine was standing right next to them until Zach stabbed one of the two walkers. He took the katana out of the walker's skull as the other walker noticed him with a growl. It stretched its arms out as if to grab him and eat him but it was quickly killed with one sword thrust from the Marine's katana. He grunted as he withdrew the blade and succeeded in slathering brain goop all over his shirt.

"Rad." Glenn stated as he walked up to Zach. Carley joined alongside Glenn with a stare aimed at the door.

Zach sheathed his katana since they were no remaining walkers in the area. Zach knocked on the door and said, "Hello, we know someone's in here."

"Please just go away." A young woman's voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Let's go guys." Carley said impatiently.

"In a minute." Zach said to Carley and turned his attention to the door. "If you let us come in, we can take you somewhere safer. We have a group in town and-"

"No, no, no, no…please!" The woman exclaimed frantically.

"She's in trouble." Glenn exclaimed.

"Miss, back away from the door. We're comin' in." Zach said. He turned the door knob but discovered that the door was locked. With the door locked, Zach tried to kick the door down without much success.

"Just stop!" The young woman exclaimed from the other side. "I'm coming out now."

The door started to open and the three looked on in horror. She was deathly pale, blood drenched the side of her shirt, and her eyes screamed hopelessness. "Oh my gosh." Zach said sadly.

"You're hurt! We need to get you help!" Glenn exclaimed.

"It's too late for that now. I'm bit, there's nothing you can do." The woman explained.

"There's got to be something we can do!" Glenn exclaimed. He looked to Carley who only shrugged. She didn't know what could be done for the woman. Glenn then turned to Zach hoping that the Marine could do something.

"I'd say our options are limited." Zach said.

The woman then noticed the pistol that was in its holster attached to Zach's belt. "You have gun." Zach looked to the dying woman with a questionable stare as she continued, "May I borrow it?"

"What exactly do you mean by borrow?" Carley asked. She was afraid of what the woman was thinking of doing.

"Give it to me." The woman replied.

"What? No way. We can't do that." Glenn said.

"Please…" The woman begged as she turned back to Zach. "I just need one bullet and then I can be with my family and my boyfriend. I don't want to turn into one of those things. It's not Christian."

"…You have a boyfriend?" Glenn asked sadly.

"Glenn…" Carley said in a scolding tone.

"Are you absolutely positive that this is what you want?" Zach asked.

"Yes… yes, please." The woman said.

Zach huffed and said, "Carley, Glenn get back to the vehicle. I'll be there in a bit."

"Wait, what?" Glenn exclaimed. "This isn't how we do things! Zach, you can't just give up on her! That ain't right!"

Zach looked to Glenn and said, "It isn't my decision and it isn't yours, Glenn. It's her decision of whether she wants to try and fight off the infection in a small glimmer of hope of getting better or end it now. She's made her decision."

"He's right, okay." The woman said to Glenn. "Thank you for trying to help me, but… I'm already dead."

Distraught, Glenn reluctantly left. He walked away with his head down. Carley soon joined him leaving Zach to pull out his pistol and doing the same thing that he did to his wife. He sighed and asked, "Are you ready?" The woman nodded and closed her eyes waiting for the bullet to come.

Zach brought the gun up and aimed at the woman's head. He could hear Glenn's vehicle start up in the background as he pulled the trigger which was complimented with a light thud that came from the woman's body hitting the ground. He huffed before he ran down the flight of stairs.

Zach entered the passenger seat of Glenn's car, and the vehicle ran off from the scene as several walkers started to surround the motor inn. The trip back to the pharmacy was uneventful and consisted mostly of silence among the three.

* * *

"Good, y'all made it back" Kenny said grateful to see that Zach, Glenn, and Carley had returned. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, we had a few close calls and Glenn is okay and… well yeah… we're okay." Zach tried to explain.

"I've got a couple gallons for your truck in the trunk of my car." Glenn said sadly.

"Glad to hear it." Kenny said not noticing that Glenn was very distraught. Glenn walked over to a nearby jukebox and looked down sadly as the group continued their discussion.

"And things back here?" Carley asked.

"Quiet." Kenny replied. "Our 'friend' is still in and out over there. He won't survive anymore stress. The next order of business is getting the keys to the pharmacy."

"Agreed." Zach said. "I think I might know where they're at." Zach looked over to Doug in a gesture to indicate that the keys were outside. Kenny and Carley nodded in response before going back to their previous activities. Kenny went back over to Katjaa and Duck, and Carley went back to trying to get a signal on the radio.

Zach looked over to see Clementine coloring in her coloring book. He walked over to the five year old and knelt down to talk to her. "Hi, sweetie. How are you doing?"

Clementine looked up from her coloring book and smiled upon seeing Zach. "Hi Zack. I'm good."

"Is your finger better?" Zach asked.

"Yeah. It feels a lot better." Clementine replied as she looked down at the bandaged finger. "Thank you for fixing it."

"You're welcome and you don't need to thank me. I'm here for you." Zach said and he started to get up from his crouched position.

"Well, I'm glad you're here then." Clementine said as she looked up to her guardian.

"Thanks, Clem." Zach said. "I'm going to go help find the keys. I'll be back in a bit. If you need anything, check with Katjaa."

"Okie dokie." Clementine chirped and she returned to coloring.

Zach walked over to Glenn who looked up to him with an angry stare. "How can you have let her have that gun back there? She probably wasn't in her right mind. How could you have let that happen?"

"You can't force people to live, Glenn, especially under her circumstances." Zach said. "Look, if there was a slim chance that we could have saved her, I would have taken it, but there wasn't."

Glenn lost his scowl and sighed. "Well… thanks, I guess."

"You learned a very tough lesson from all of this." Zach said. "Not everyone is savable. Now, you have to carry that with you wherever you go."

"You sound like you speak from experience." Glenn said.

"Yeah…" Zach said. "…My wife… she wasn't savable. She was one of those things, a walker."

"That's a tough break, man." Glenn said as he looked to Zach remorsefully. "Are you alright?"

"…Yeah, I'll be fine." Zach said. He looked over to Doug and said, "I got to go find the keys for the pharmacy."

"Hmm… alright. Good luck with that." Glenn said.

Zach nodded to Glenn and walked over to Doug. "Hey, ready to go back outside?"

"Yeah, ready whenever you are." Doug replied.

The two exited the pharmacy and into the walker-filled street. Zach looked around until he eyed the walker that was pinned down by the telephone pole and wearing the green scrubs. "That one's got to have the keys on him." Zach whispered as he indicated to the pinned down walker.

"Are you sure?" Doug asked as he eyed the walker.

"Yes." Zach whispered as he pulled out the photo of the family that once owned the pharmacy.

Doug looked at the photo and then back to the pinned down walker. He smirked and whispered, "Alright, so now we know where the keys are, now all we need is a clear shot across the street." Doug looked around until his eyes rested on an electronics store that was parallel from the pharmacy. "I have an idea. Do you happen to have a universal remote control by any chance?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I found it in the office." Zach said as he pulled out the remote control from the pocket of his backpack.

"Sweet." Doug said as he took the remote. He pressed a random assortment of buttons until he got up and aimed the remote at the television on display at the electronics store from across the street. Suddenly, the televisions turned on which caught the attention of a couple of walkers.

"That is awesome, Doug." Zach whispered enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I got a couple of them to take notice." Doug whispered.

Zach looked over and noticed that only a few walkers noticed the televisions. Zach sighed and said, "Not enough though. We need noise."

"You know those televisions are probably making a lot of noise right now." Doug whispered. He eyed a nearby brick and quickly turned his focus on the combination lock on the gate.

"What are you doing?" Zach asked.

"Before you guys showed up, I memorized the combination to the lock just so I can keep myself entertained." Doug said as he pulled on the lock which opened for him. "He took the lock off and placed it in his pocket. "I'm no good at sports. If you can take that brick and chuck it at the store across the street, then the sound of those television could be heard for a couple blocks…"

"…Which will attract the walkers' attention. Good job Doug." Zach said. He opened the gate to where he could grab the brick. He took a hold of the object and weighed it in his hand. "Alright, let's see if those four years in high school baseball will pay off." Doug chuckled at Zach's comment as Zach finally threw the brick at the window. The window smashed into pieces allowing white noise to be heard throughout the entire street. The walkers were soon drawn to the store by the loud televisions. "Now's the time." Zach said.

Zach walked out of the gate and slowly approached the walker that was wearing green scrubs. He drew his katana as he approached the walker. Zach finally reached the walker and crouched down in front of the creature as it growled and tried to grab him. However, the walker was pinned down by a telephone pole, so it couldn't do anything to Zach. "Hey…" Zach said as the walker continued to try to grab him, but was unsuccessful. "I'm sorry this happened to you…" Zach got back up and quickly stabbed the walker into the skull.

Zach sighed and started to check the walker's pockets for the keys. He finally grabbed a large ring and pulled it out of the walker's pocket. Zach's eyes widened upon pulling out the large ring. It was a key ring which held one specific key. It had to be the key that opened up the pharmacy. Zach got and looked over to Doug who stayed crouched down to stay out of sight. Zach waved the key ring over his head to indicate to Doug that they finally had the pharmacy key.

Doug smiled to Zach with an astonished look, but then, something caught his eye. He noticed that some of the walkers had lost interest in the televisions and turned to see a fresh new meal in the form of the Marine. "Holy crap! Run!" Doug exclaimed to Zach.

Zach quickly ran for the gate and made it back into the pharmacy with Doug following after him. They both panted by how close they came to being the next meal for the walkers outside. "Man that was close." Doug huffed.

"Yeah but we did it." Zach said as he looked to the key. He looked back up to Lilly and Larry, and he started to walk over to them. "I got the keys." Zach said as he presented the keys to Lilly.

"Great you're amazing! Let's get in there." Lilly said enthusiastically.

They headed into the office and immediately approached the door. Zach huffed before he unlocked the door. He breathed out a sigh of relief, thankful that the key worked and he walked on in with Lilly. However, they both heard a loud alarm go off.

"Oh shit." Zach muttered.

"Oh no!" Lilly exclaimed, "We've got to hurry!" They headed deep into the pharmacy to gather the needed medication and any other supplies that they could carry.

* * *

Everyone was scrambling around as the walkers outside started to gather around the building. Every walker from within the town must have been gathered around the pharmacy. The building's creaking and groaning made all of the survivors inside nervous. They had to get out of the building.

Amidst the panic, Zach was checking on Clementine while helping her put her backpack back on. Meanwhile, everyone else was trying to prepare themselves for the onslaught of the walkers. "I'm going to get the truck around back!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Make it fast; I got to get my dad out of here!" Lilly exclaimed.

"I don't plan on dilly-dallyin! Kat, take Duck to the office and barricade the living hell outta the door behind me. Glenn when you hear me honkin in the alley, you start getting people out of here."

"You got it." Glenn said in response.

"Doug, Carley, and Zach, you make sure our defenses stay up till, then." Kenny said. He turned his attention to Glenn and continued, "Glenn, I'm going to need that axe."

"Yeah here." Glenn said as he handed the axe to Kenny.

Kenny grabbed the axe as a loud metal creaking could be heard from outside. "What the hell was that?" Kenny asked.

"That gate's not locked anymore." Doug said.

"Shit." Kenny spat. "You three hurry and get on that. I'll be back as quick as I can." Kenny said. He then left the room with Katjaa and Duck following close behind. Carley, Glenn, and Doug leaned against the door to make sure that the walkers wouldn't get in.

"Stay away from the windows." Zach told Clementine before he ran over to take Glenn's spot.

As Zach and Glenn switched places, Katjaa yelled for Glenn's help which made the young man dart off toward the office.

Zach kept leaning against the door as it shook from the overwhelming strength from the other side. "Zach, if we don't make it through this… I want you to know that I think you're a real nice guy." Doug said. Doug then turned to Carley and said, "Car, I want you to know that… I really like you…" Carley blushed in response and turned away from the plump nerd, indicating that she had similar feelings.

"We are going to make it through this!" Zach exclaimed as he used every bit of his strength to keep the door shut.

"Doug, you should know that I…" Carley said but was interrupted when some of the shelving collapsed on Doug's side. The three looked over in surprise to see that several walkers had managed to push through the brick wall and were now in the store. Thankfully it wasn't a very big opening. "I got it." Carley said as she pulled out her hand gun.

"Are you sure?" Zach asked.

"Oh shit!" Carley muttered and she fired at a pair walkers that were slowly approaching Doug.

"Oh shit." Zach said as the bullets found their mark in the walkers' skulls. "Okay then." Zach muttered as Carley ran off to take out more of the walkers that were getting inside the pharmacy. "Clementine!" Zach said to get the girl's attention. She ran up to him as he explained, "Go find something to stick in between the handles, something very strong, okay?" Zach said.

"Okay." Clementine said and she ran off to find something similar to Zach's description.

Suddenly, there a loud shattering noise from across the pharmacy which caught Zach's and Doug's attention. "That window is screwed." Doug said.

"Go, I got this." Zach said. Doug nodded and he went to keep the window from being yet another way for the walkers to get in. "Clem, did you find anything yet?" Zach asked as the five year old looked around.

"No, I…I can't think of anything." Clementine said.

Zach groaned as he fought to keep the walkers from knocking down the door, while at the same time, he tried to think of something that they could use to block the door. "Wait a minute…" Clementine said and she rushed out of Zach's view. The walkers forced the door open once again but Zach was able to close it thanks to his strength. Clementine came back to Zach with the cane that he showed her earlier and she said, "Here, I found something."

"Good job." Zach praised as he took the cane from the five year old and placed it into the handles of the door.

Zach released a sigh of relief now that the door to the pharmacy wasn't going to open for at least a couple seconds.

"NO… Help me!" Doug exclaimed. Zach looked over to see the plump man struggling to free himself from the walkers outside. One of the walkers had a hold of him and was trying to pull him outside.

"Oh shoot! I'm out!" Carley exclaimed as a crawler clung to her ankle. "My ammo… it's in my purse." A stray walker started to approach Carley as she tried to grab her purse.

Zach quickly ran over while pulling out his handgun to shoot the walker that was approaching Carley. He shot at the walker with an accurate bullseye to the head. Zach then quickly grabbed Carley's purse and tossed it to her. "Here catch." Zach said. Carley caught the purse while Zach quickly ran over to help Doug.

"Oh shit!" Doug exclaimed as the walkers started to drag him out of the pharmacy through the window only to be stopped by Zach. He placed his feet against the wall and was able to pull Doug back into the pharmacy along with a walker. As they fell back with a grunt, the walker landed on the ground in front of the two men. Doug huffed at the near death experience as Zach quickly pulled out his handgun and shot the walker.

"You saved my…" Doug started to say as Zach got back up.

"Doug! Zach!" Carley exclaimed as she rounded the corner looking for either man. She knelt down to check on Doug and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Doug said as he started to get back up. He looked to Zach with an appreciative stare until they could hear a loud scream.

"Shit! Clem!" Zach exclaimed as he ran over to check the young girl. She was struggling with a walker. Zach quickly ran up to the walker and kicked it off of the girl. The walker was sent hurling into the wall nearby. The walker growled in response as Zach aimed his handgun at the creature and shot it.

"Come on, let's go!" Kenny announced from the office.

Zach looked down to the frightened five year old and picked her up. "It's alright, baby. I got you. Nothing's going to hurt you." Zach said comfortingly as he carried the whimpering girl to the office door.

He approached the office door to see Larry standing at the doorway. The older man glared at Zach and said, "You aren't coming with us, you son of a bitch!" Larry spat and he punched Zach to the ground. Clementine yelped on the descent to the ground. Zach groaned in pain when he hit the floor. He lost his grip on Clementine who looked up to see that the walkers were getting to closer to her and Zach.

"Zach, Zach…" Clementine said as she shook her guardian to get up. "The monsters are coming. You got to get up. Please, hurry!" Clementine got up and started to back away in fear of the walkers.

Zach groaned as he got up. He drew his handgun and fired at five nearby walkers that were getting too close. He got back up and said, "Come on. We got to get out of here." Zach said as he holstered his gun and picked up the five year old. Zach went for the door to the office and slammed it shut as the rest of the herd got closer.

He ran into the alley to see Kenny in his vehicle waiting impatiently for him. "Hurry up!" Kenny barked. Zach ran to one of the doors that would lead him to the back seat and he quickly got inside. He huffed at the close call as the walkers started to limp out of the building and towards the vehicle. Kenny slammed his foot on the accelerator and the truck sped away from the destroyed pharmacy. Zach released a sigh of relief. He never would have thought that Larry would be willing to kill him and Clementine, but Zach was thankful to escape with his life. He now owed his life to the five year old… again. He looked down and smiled at the girl as she rested her head on his chest. Zach looked to the girl with a thankful smile before looking back toward the front of the vehicle.

"Where are we going?" Kenny asked everyone in the vehicle which happened to be his wife, son, Lilly, Larry, Zach, and Clementine.

Zach was curious on where the rest of the group was and asked, "Where's Doug, Carley, and Glenn?"

"Who cares?" Larry spat.

"Dad…" Lilly said in a warning tone of voice. She looked to Zach and explained, "They're in Glenn's car. They're right behind us."

"Okay guys. I need to know where we're going." Kenny said with an irritated and frustrated tone.

"Who f******** cares?" Larry spat.

"I do because we don't have much gas and I don't want to be driving in circles all night!" Kenny barked as he glared at Larry with one eye as he kept the other eye on the road.

"Don't get snippy with me, asshole!" Larry spat.

"I'm the asshole?" Kenny inquired. "You got a lot of nerve-" As the argument intensified, Clementine's grip on Zach's shirt tightened which indicated that she was scared.

"Go to the motor inn." Zach said interrupting the argument.

"Oh sure, after all, it's only infested with a shit ton of walkers, that's all!" Larry spat. "Besides who made you leader of this group?"

"Well, I think going down to the motor inn is a good idea." Lilly said. "It's close, we can clear it out, and we can fortify it."

"Alright, the motor inn it is then." Kenny said and they continued down the road towards the Travelier Motel.

…**To be continued.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry that it has been a while. This chapter was a beast to write. For one thing, I'm horrible at original plot lines and as you can guess, that's exactly what's going on in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

After claiming the motor inn as their new home, the group had spread out to either help get rid of the walkers' bodies and get the motor inn in working order or thinking over their ordeal back at the pharmacy. Zach stood outside of the motor inn's brick gate and looked down the road with a photo of his beloved wife in his hand. He regretted that he couldn't save her, especially since they didn't spend much time together after their marriage. The saddest part was that Zach had to admit that things weren't working out between him and Amaya. He wanted to fix his marriage as soon as he could, but then this damn virus happened and now he will never fix his marriage. Zach looked to his wedding band and removed the silver ring from his finger. He placed it in his pocket before he walked over to the group.

Zach approached Glenn first who was listening to a radio broadcast about Atlanta from his car's radio. As the broadcast ended, Glenn looked up to Zach and said, "I think I need to go…"

"To Atlanta?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, I got friends there, and I can't stay here knowing that they could be trapped." Glenn said.

Lilly overheard the conversation and approached Zach and Glenn. Zach looked up to Lilly and shook his head in a gesture that he would talk to Glenn. In response, Lilly scowled and reluctantly backed down to allow Zach to handle the situation.

"I get it… you want to help your friends, but how about you hold up for a little while. You don't want to go driving in the dark all by yourself with only an axe as a weapon. Take a couple of days to relax and get ready. I don't want to see you riding off without too many options." Zach said.

"I…I guess that sounds reasonable." Glenn said and he looked up to Zach with a thankful stare. He entered his vehicle and turned it off. He got back out of the vehicle and closed the door. "Thanks Zach." Glenn said.

Zach nodded and the two shook hands. "No problem. Give us a couple of days to give you some supplies, gasoline, and a map." Glenn nodded back and went towards one of the motel rooms to sleep for the night.

Meanwhile, Zach looked over to Katjaa and Kenny and approached them next. Kenny looked to Zach with a smirk and said, "You definitely proved me wrong."

"What do you mean?" Zach asked.

"That little girl of yours." Kenny said as he looked over to see her with Duck. She seemed to be in her own world as the boy continued to talk. "You said you've never raised a child before, and I said that you were probably not the right person to be looking out for her. But… I think you're doing a good job with taking care of her." Kenny continued. "Keep it up."

"Thanks Ken." Zach said.

"No problem." Kenny said and he went back to talking to Katjaa.

Zach looked over to see Carley and Doug talking to each other. They were both smiling and laughing which was something that Zach hadn't seen in a while. Zach wanted to go talk to Clem and probably put her to bed but first he had to talk to Doug and Carley. He approached the two as Doug asked, "…How did you get out of that situation?"

"It wasn't easy. I had to go to the girl's locker room and climb out the window." Carley laughed. Doug joined her until they both noticed Zach walking next to them.

"Hey Zach. How are you holding up?" Doug asked.

"I'm doing pretty well." Zach said. "How about you two?"

"We're doing extremely well and it's all thanks to you." Doug said with a thankful stare aimed at Zach. "Thank you Zach. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten out of there."

"Yes, thank you so much. We owe you our lives." Carley added.

"You don't owe me anything." Zach said. "I was just glad that I was able to save you both."

"Well, Doug and I really appreciate what you did for us." Carley said. "We won't forget it."

Zach nodded as Doug looked over to Clementine and Duck. He looked to the young girl worriedly, "I think your little girl is tired. You may want to get her to bed."

"That's a good idea. I'll talk to you two later." Zach said and walked away from Carley and Doug. The two went back to talking, but Zach couldn't make out much of anything that they said. He was too concentrated on Clem and why sad she appeared. Zach wasn't sure why the five year old was so sad, but he aimed to find a solution.

"…Oh man. I thought that Robsaurus was toast but he wasn't. And then…" Duck continued in his conversation with Clementine as the five year old stared at the ground.

"Hey, Duck." Zach said to get the young boy's attention. "Could you cool jets for a second?"

"Okay, sorry." The boy apologized with a respectful tone in his voice.

Zach crouched down in front of the girl and he asked, "You sleepy, Clem? I could get you to bed real quick."

"No, it's not that." Clementine replied tearfully. "I didn't grab everything back at the pharmacy. I left my lion there."

"Aw, sweetie. It's alright." Zach said. "I'll head back there tomorrow and get him."

"But I left him with the monsters." Clementine said tearfully. "Won't he become a monster?"

"No sweetie, he'll be fine. Those monsters don't like lions. They're probably scared of him." Zach said.

Clementine perked up at the fact that her favorite toy was not going to be destroyed by her forgetfulness. However, her happiness was short-lived and she said, "But I've never slept without him. I need him. He keeps the monsters away."

"I'll sleep with you tonight and keep the monsters away. How does that sound?" Zach asked as he placed a supportive hand on the girl's shoulder.

Clementine looked up and smiled at the young man. "Yes please. I don't want to sleep by myself." Clementine said.

Zach nodded to the young girl until he heard an angry grumble from Larry. "Zach, get over here." Larry said.

"I'll be back." Zach said to Clementine as he got back up. He approached Larry with an angry stare and said, "You better have one hell of an explanation as to why you tried to kill me and a five year old today."

"Oh I do." Larry spat. "You and that miscreant can't be trusted."

"Are you insane?" Zach hissed. "You tried to kill a five year old."

"All for the safety of this group." Larry said. "If anything happens to my daughter, you both are out of here." The old, bitter man then left Zach. The Marine glared at the retired soldier's retreating form. There was several questions that formed in Zach's head. For what reason would Larry have to kill Clementine and would he do it again?

His thoughts were interrupted when Lilly appeared next to him and said, "Hey Zach, thanks for finding the keys to the pharmacy. My dad would have been dead if it wasn't for you."

"…No problem." Zach said.

"Did you talk to Glenn? Did you get him to rethink that crazy idea to go off to Atlanta?" Lilly asked.

"Not exactly." Zach said. "I told him to wait for a couple of days, so that way we can give him supplies."

"No Zach." Lilly said with a slight scowl starting to form in her facial expressions. "You shouldn't have told him that."

"It is his decision of whether he wants to go out there or not. No one can make the decision for him." Zach replied.

Lilly lost her scowl realizing that Zach was right. The decision to leave or not was up to Glenn, not her. She sighed and said, "I still think it's a bad idea."

"I guess we'll find out." Zach said. "First, we need to get supplies, like medicine, antibiotics, and gauze. Ken and I can go back down to the pharmacy and get some supplies there. It should be cleared out by tomorrow."

"We also need food." Lilly said. "I think Warner Robins has a decent amount of food. Once you and Kenny come back from the pharmacy, I'll come with you and we'll go down there."

"Sounds good." Zach replied. Suddenly, the sound of helicopters flying above could be heard over the motor inn. Everyone looked up to see a fast-moving, blinking light that was surrounded by the darkness. It soon disappeared as everyone looked back down to the reality that they were in.

"I hope that's the sound of us winnin this thing." Kenny said.

"Yeah, let's hope so." Zach replied as he, Kenny, and Lilly went towards the entrance of the motel.

"This motor inn is pretty damn defendable." Kenny said as the three walked to the gate. "We use cars to block off the entrances and keep someone on watch, we can hold out till the military rolls through."

"I actually agree with that plan." Lilly said.

"Yeah, uh me too." Zach said in an almost stalling manner. Since he abandoned his unit, Zach had no idea if there was someone still alive or not.

"We got beds, we got water, and more importantly we got light. There are worse places to call home." Kenny said as the three reached the front of the gate.

"Yeah, I think things will be alright." Lilly added.

Suddenly, the lights started to shut off. One-by-one the lights that illuminated the motor inn started to turn off until the whole motel was covered in darkness. Footsteps could be heard from behind and a young girl's voice spoke up. "Zach, I'm scared."

"Don't worry sweetie, I'm right here." Zach said as he picked up the five year old. Clementine wrapped her arms around the Marine's neck as Zach cradled her in his arms. Finally, relaxing in his arms, the girl rested her head on his shoulder. Zach could tell by the darkness that had surrounded the motor inn that it was very late and that meant that Clementine was probably tired. "Are you tired, sweetie?" Zach asked.

Zach received a confirmed hum in response as Lilly and Kenny turned on a couple of flashlights. "Well there goes electricity." Kenny muttered.

"It's fine." Lilly said. "We'll make do without electricity." She turned to Zach and said, "Zach, you want to take first watch?"

"No, I got to get Clem to bed." Zach replied.

Lilly sighed and said, "Okay… Carley would you mind taking first watch?"

"Yeah, I got it." Carley said. Everyone was tired and exhausted including Carley but someone had to keep an eye on the motor inn for scavengers and walkers.

"Thanks Car." Zach said as he started to walk away to one of the rooms.

Zach entered one of the rooms and slowly traversed the room to one of the beds. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness which allowed him to see the outline of the bed. Thankfully, when they arrived, he, Lilly, and Kenny checked each room for walkers; thankfully, they didn't find any. Zach laid down on the bed while he gently adjusted the five year old resting on him to where she was resting partially on him but mostly on the bed. Zach looked down to the resting five year old with caring eyes. She seemed so fragile but she was also surprisingly brave.

Zach breathed out a sigh as he allowed himself to finally sleep. He knew that the group was safe especially since Carley was on watch.

**Hours Later**

"F***! F***! Move!" Kenny exclaimed as he and Zach ran past the shelves of the desolated pharmacy. They quickly scrambled for the office as the walkers pursued after them. The two men slammed the door shut and immediately ran out into the alleyway.

Kenny ran out first and huffed heavily while placing his hands on his knees. Zach came out next and slammed the door shut. Zach leaned against the door with his backpack now filled with supplies and a specific toy that he had to retrieve when he went into the pharmacy.

* * *

"This shit can't be worth it." Kenny spat as the two started to make their way to the motor inn.

"We needed medicine; we won't last long without it." Zack replied.

Kenny grumbled to himself as the two continued to make their way out of Macon.

Eventually, the two arrived at the motor inn and were greeted to a new sight. Two dumpsters blocked the entrance of the motor inn. Zach and Kenny looked to each other questionably until they heard the squeaking wheels of the dumpster. They looked to Lilly, Carley, Katjaa, and Duck who were inside waiting for them.

"What's with the little set up over there?" Kenny asked as he gestured to the dumpsters that acted as gates.

"We're using it as a gate, until we can get through this mess." Lilly said as Doug and Glenn pushed the dumpster back into place. "So, what'd you get?"

"Ken, are you alright?" Katjaa asked her husband.

"We're fine." Kenny said.

"Here." Zach said as he handed the backpack full of supplies from the pharmacy to Lilly. She accepted the bag and looked through it as the group watched on in silence. Meanwhile, Zach took off his own backpack and pulled out a stuffed lion toy.

Clementine perked up upon seeing her favorite stuffed animal again. Just as Zach had promised, the toy was very much in one piece. She excitedly ran up to Zach with her hands up to accept her favorite toy. "My lion, you found it!" Clementine exclaimed gleefully. The group watched on with each person smiling at the child's delight with the exception of Larry who looked to the child with a glare. Zach gave the lion toy to Clementine as she exclaimed, "Thank you so much, Zach!"

"You're welcome sweetie." Zach said as he gently rubbed the top of the child's head. Clementine looked to Zach affectionately almost like a child would stare at a parent. She was thankful that he was there for her.

"Nice work." Lilly said as she finished counting the supplies that Zach and Kenny were able to obtain. "Listen, this is really good, but we still need some food."

"Yeah, you ain't wrong about that." Kenny muttered.

"So, what'd you have in mind?" Zach asked.

"I used to work at Warner Robins. They have a huge stock when it comes to the food supply." Lilly explained.

"What's Warner Robins?" Kenny asked.

"It's an air force base." Zach said. "It's on the outskirts of Macon, right?"

"Right." Lilly said. "You both ready to go."

"Yeah, let's get it done." Zach said.

Zach looked down upon feeling a tug on his pants to see Clementine looking at him. He crouched down as she asked, "Are you leaving again?" Meanwhile, Kenny and Lilly made their way to Kenny's truck.

"Yeah, but I'll be back. Doug and Carley will look after you until then, okay?" Zach said.

"Okay." Clementine said somewhat sadly. She wanted to spend the day with her guardian, but she knew that he needed to do this for the group.

Zach got back up and looked over to Carley and Doug and asked, "Will you two look after Clem while I'm out there?"

"Yeah, we'll take care of her." Doug said.

"It's the least we owe you." Carley said.

"Thanks." Zach said as he gave an appreciative nod.

"Zach, come on." Kenny said from the truck. Lilly sat in the passenger seat and waited patiently for the Marine. Zach walked over to join the two as Kenny called out, "Alright, y'all, we'll be back before you know it." Zach entered the vehicle and closed his door while Kenny started up the truck's engine. Once again, Glenn and Doug pulled the dumpsters away but this time it was for the truck. The vehicle drove out of the motor inn and sped off to Warner Robins.

* * *

"There, that's it." Lilly said as she indicated to a fenced-in air strip. The buildings inside the fence remained in tack for the most part, but there were plenty of walkers limping around inside the fence.

"It's overran." Kenny complained.

"I didn't say it was going to be easy." Lilly said.

"We don't need to take out all of these walkers. That would take all day. We just need to get to the hanger, right?" Zach said.

"Yeah, that's where all of the rations are stored." Lilly said.

"Okay, so how do we do this?" Kenny asked.

"Let's have a look around the area." Zach said as he exited the vehicle to search the area. Lilly and Kenny got out of the vehicle as well to do their own searching. Zach looked throughout the area as the walkers on the other side of the fence were starting to notice him and his two allies. The walkers slowly limped towards the fence and tried to grab the three survivors but the fence stopped the walkers. Finally, Zach found something that they could use; he found a flare gun.

"What'd you find?" Kenny asked as he noticed that Zach was looking over the object.

"A flare gun." Zach replied. He checked the gun to see how many flares it had left and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Lilly asked.

"I only got one flare left. I'm really going to have to make this count." Zach replied as he closed up the gun.

"Just remember, you need to shoot away from the hanger." Lilly said.

"You got it." Zach replied as he aimed the gun at the runway. He aimed far away from the hanger before he squeezed the trigger. In a dazzling show, the flare shot out and landed several feet from the three and the walkers.

"Nice shot." Kenny said. The walkers immediately took notice of the flare and started to limp towards it.

"Come on, we don't have much time." Zach said as he climbed over the fence with Lilly following him and Kenny climbing the fence last.

After they succeeded in climbing over the fence, the three ran towards the hanger where they were met with a couple of stragglers. Zach hacked the walkers down skillfully without missing a beat. Lilly reached the door to the hanger and tried to open it as Kenny and Zach stood on guard.

"Well come on, hurry up." Kenny said as he started to panic. The flare had worn out and now the walkers were slowly making their way to the group.

"It won't budge." Lilly grumbled as she continued to try and get inside. The walkers were getting closer to the three until finally the door opened. "Come on!" Lilly exclaimed as she rushed inside. Kenny and Zach followed before Lilly slammed the door shut. It was followed with a console next to the door flashing to red.

"What the hell was that?" Kenny asked.

"Someone must have survived." Lilly said as she backed away from the door while looking at the console. "The computer can't function without someone at the controls."

"So we need to find this sonuvabitch, get the food and then get the f*** out of here." Kenny spat.

"No, he could have left us out there to die, but he took the risk to trust us. Now, we need to return the favor." Zach explained.

"I agree." Lilly said. "Come on, let's go see who's at the controls." She led the way up the stairs and into a corridor. She walked down past several doors, some of which had groans inside and were labeled, 'DEAD INSIDE.' They continued until Lilly stopped at a door and opened it. Kenny looked to Zach with unsure look, but Zach calmed his uneasiness with a head nod.

Kenny sighed as the two men reluctantly walked inside. They saw Lilly looking all over the empty room. It was obvious someone was living in the room with a mattress set up on one corner and some empty chip bags laying on the floor. "I don't get it. Someone was obviously living here. Now, it's as if they vanished into thin air." Lilly said.

"Maybe for the best. We didn't exactly come here to find anyone alive to begin with." Kenny said.

"Then what exactly did you come in here for?" The three survivors heard from behind. They looked over to see a man with glasses on. He wore a black shirt, a pair of cargo pants, and a pair of combat boots. He held up a handgun aimed at no one in particular.

"Easy now. We're not here-" Kenny said but the unknown man interrupted him.

"You didn't answer my question. Why are you here?" The man asked. "Is this some kind of rescue mission?"

"Put that thing down, and then, we'll talk." Kenny said.

"I can't do that. This gun is for my own protection. As long as you don't make a move to harm me, we won't have problems."

"We came here for the food rations." Zach answered honestly. "Of course we weren't expecting to find anyone alive."

"Wait a minute… you look very familiar." Lilly said. "…Mark? You're one of the pilots, aren't you?"

"Lilly?" The man asked. "I thought that was you on the surveillance camera, but I wasn't sure." The man known as Mark lowered his handgun which helped the three survivors relax. "So, you're here for the food rations, huh?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Kenny asked.

"Actually, I don't." Mark replied. "Heck, take as much as you can carry, but there is one problem." Mark walked over to the window with the three following him. They looked out and were stunned by what they saw. The window showed that the air field was congested with walkers. "You guys found a way in…" Mark continued, "…but now, you'll need to find a way out."

"Okay, what about the fence? It's close enough to where we could make a dash for it, right?" Kenny asked.

Mark shook his head. "No, there's too many. They may be slow, but they're relentless. Plus, one bite, one scratch, and it's over."

"Yeah, we know. We've been out there in the thick of it." Lilly said.

The group was stumped. They didn't have many options until Mark spoke up again. "I have a plane in the hanger, but there isn't enough fuel left in it to fly out of here."

Zach shot up upon hearing that there was a working plane. He looked over to Mark and asked, "You have a working plane?"

"Yeah, why?" Mark asked.

"I think I have an idea." Zach said.

"Alright, that's what I like to hear." Kenny said with a smirk.

"What are you thinking?" Lilly asked.

"We start up the plane and keep it running without anyone inside the cockpit. That will draw the walkers towards it." Zach explained to the group. He turned to Mark and said, "You see, those things out there are attracted to light and noise, but especially noise. The plane will draw the walkers into the hanger. We can then slip out the door that Kenny, Lilly, and I used to get in."

"That's actually a really good idea. There's one problem though. How are we going to keep the plane running?" Mark asked.

"Why not tape it down into the on position. You got duct tape?" Zach asked.

"As a matter of fact I do." Mark replied.

"Alright, so with the plane running, we can make our escape and get back to the truck." Kenny said.

"That's right." Zach replied.

"But we're putting ourselves at risk if we fire up the plane. The walkers will be more determined than ever to get inside. This place might collapse from the walkers." Lilly said.

"I say it's worth the risk." Mark said. "Come on, there's plenty of rations left." He led the group out of the control room and led them down the stairs. "I had plenty of time to bag up all of the rations that wouldn't spoil for a long time just in case some people would actually come in here and look for survivors." He headed down a flight of stairs with Kenny, Lilly and Zach close behind.

"So, how did all of this happen?" Kenny asked. "How did this place get so overran?"

"It all started with this sick couple and kid; we were doing a public tour of the base. We didn't take much notice, until they turned and started biting other people. The poor kid was celebrating his eleventh birthday." Mark explained. His tone became saddened when he talked about the boy.

"I got a boy back where we're set up." Kenny said sadly. "He's a year younger than the boy you talked about."

"Damn…" Mark muttered as he continued to lead the group toward a set of stairs. "I'm sure your boy is alright."

"I'm just kinda scared that I won't see him again." Kenny said. "I mean if this doesn't work, what'll happen?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Zach said as the group walked down the stairs. "There's no point in giving up now."

"Yeah… yeah I guess you're right." Kenny replied with a smile. He was happy that Zach had his back despite the fact that they didn't start off on the right terms.

"Alright, there's the rations." Mark replied. In the room was eight backpacks filled with the food rations that Mark had mentioned.

"Holy shit!" Kenny exclaimed. "How are we supposed to carry all of it?"

"Well we could carry four of them like regular backpacks and carry the other four in our arms. We'll just toss them over the fence before we climbed over." Lilly suggested.

"That could work." Mark said as he placed one of the backpacks on and picked up one of the others. Zach, Lilly, and Kenny reflected his movements and placed the other backpacks on or grabbed the straps of the backpacks "How about you two go up to the control room? Be ready to move. Don't wait for me and Zach."

"Are you sure about this?" Lilly asked.

"As sure as I'm going to be." Mark replied.

"Don't worry about us. Just get back to the truck and be ready to make tracks." Zach said.

The two hesitantly nodded in reply and went back up the stairs to the control room. "Come on. The hanger is down another flight of stairs." Mark said.

The two left the ration room and went through a hallway and down a different flight of stairs. The two men remained eerily quiet as they walked down the set of stairs. It was unusual, but with recent events, the silence was slightly comfortable.

They reached the bottom step of the stairs and entered a huge room which contained an airplane that was near the entrance. "That's it." Mark said.

"Okay, you ready to see if our plan will work?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, I want to get out of this place." Mark replied. Zach nodded to the pilot and the two went to the plane. Mark got inside the cockpit and started up the plane. The plane was rather loud, and its propellers' whirling echoed within the hanger. Suddenly, Zach heard a loud bang on the door which was followed by moaning. Meanwhile, Mark continued to try and tape the accelerator into place. However, the moaning and banging seemed to only intensify more as every second ticked by.

Finally, Mark had completed his task in taping the accelerator and just in time. Mark hoped down from the cockpit just in time for the hanger door to bust open.

"Oh shit." Mark muttered as he picked up the backpack with rations.

"Come on, we gotta move." Zach said. The two rushed up the stairs as a few of the walkers followed. However, most of the walkers were drawn to the plane.

After climbing and descending several stairs and running across a couple of corridors, Zach and Mark ran outside with the use of the door that Zach, Kenny, and Lilly used earlier. They didn't see many walkers outside. In fact, they had a clear shot to get to the truck from where they stood. The two ran for the truck and tossed their bags over the fence before they climbed over it as well. From there, they entered the truck to which Kenny sped off from the scene.

* * *

"Whew, I'm finally out of that wretched air field." Mark muttered. "Thanks, you guys. I would have been a goner if you hadn't shown up."

"Hell, thanks for the rations." Kenny said. "I'm ready to head home and see my boy after…" Kenny trailed off and squinted as he looked off to the side of the road."

"What is it?" Zach asked.

"Hold on." Kenny replied as he started to increase his speed. Zach looked up ahead and saw what Kenny was trying to do. There was a young woman up ahead who seemed to be in her early twenties. She was being chased by a walker. Her ethnicity appeared to be mixed, but unlike Clementine, her skin was more of a cocoa brown color where Clementine appeared to be more like her mother, Diana, with a lighter skin color. Additionally, the woman had dark brown, wavy, long hair that extended down to the middle of her back. The woman's skirt was torn and covered in fresh blood, but the blood wasn't hers. She appeared to be healthy. The woman fell as the walker slowly approached her. However, Kenny hit the creature with the truck which made it slam off the hood before it limply landed behind the vehicle. Kenny stopped the truck and said, "Someone might want to go back there and see if that girl is okay."

"Yeah, I'm on it." Zach said as he got out of the car. He walked up to the woman who whimpered and started to back away from him. Zach raised his hands and stopped in front of the woman. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you." The woman seemed to calm down more as Zach lowered himself to the ground and looked to the woman at eye level. "Are you okay?"

The woman shook her head and whimpered more. Zach looked to her sympathetically before he reached out to her. At first, the woman shuttered from the gesture, but then, she slowly extended her hand and grabbed onto his hand. Zach gave the woman an encouraging smile as he helped her up.

"I'm Zachary Griffith. You can just call me Zach though." Zach introduced himself.

"I-I'm Natalie." The woman said.

Zach smiled to Natalie and said, "Come on, we better get out of here."

"Okay." Natalie said.

The two walked to the truck where Zach helped Natalie inside. He sat next to her and said, "We're good, Ken. Let's go home."

"I hear that." Kenny replied. He then stepped on the accelerator and drove off to the motor inn.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Whew, finally. This chapter was dreadfully long…**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know, I'm late in updating again… It's hard to write original content. Also, there's a lot of dialogue in this chapter… Boring, yes, but also important in character development and plot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

The truck finally came to a halt and the engine stopped. Kenny huffed as he leaned back in his seat. They were finally back in the motor inn. "Man, what a f******* day." Kenny said.

"You can say that again." Mark said. "I can't believe that we made it."

The five exited the truck to be greeted by Larry, Doug, Glenn, Carley, Katjaa, Duck, and Clementine.

"Everything go alright?" Carley asked.

"Who the f*** are these two?" Larry inquired.

"Everyone calm down." Lilly said. "We were able to get the supplies we needed from Warner Robins with Mark's help." She made a gesture to the pilot as he nodded to the group.

"What about her?" Larry inquired as he gestured to Natalie.

"Found her on the road. Had to help her. She had a walker chasin her." Kenny replied.

"You brought her here when we have no idea who she is or where she came from?" Larry exclaimed.

"It was the right call to make." Zach said.

"No one was asking you, dumbass." Larry spat.

"If it's too much trouble, I can just leave." Natalie said.

"Yeah that sounds perfectly fine by me." Larry said as he crossed his arms over his chest and gave Natalie a glare.

Natalie looked down sadly and slowly made her way for the dumpsters until she felt someone grab her by her shoulder. She looked back to see that Zach was holding her in place. "You're not leaving." Zach said. "If you're going to leave, it'll be out of your freewill or by a majority vote in our group." He turned to the group and asked, "Anyone other than Larry who wants to see her gone?

There was no response which made Larry scowl. He went up to Zach and said, "Who died and made you the leader of this group? Last I checked, my daughter was the one running the show."

"Dad… I agree with Zach." Lilly said. Larry sent a glare to Lilly next as she continued, "On the way back, Natalie told us that she was studying to be a doctor before all of this. She has a degree in nursing already and she has experience. We'll need her."

Larry grumbled in defeat and he turned back to Zach. "This isn't over, asshole." Larry spat as he pushed the Marine.

"Hit the road, has-been." Zach said.

"F*** you." Larry spat and he stormed off. The group shuttered when they heard Larry's door slam shut. Despite the older man's tantrum, the group went about their business with some new tasks to do. Doug, Carley, and Lilly got the food from the truck and did stock of the newly gained supplies. Kenny was happily greeting his family as Mark got acquainted with Glenn.

Zach turned back to Natalie and said, "Sorry about that. He's got a bit of a temper."

"That's alright. I've dealt with patients like him before." Natalie said.

Zach looked down upon feeling the tug of his pants. He looked down to see Clementine looking up to him with a smile. She had her arms up in a gesture for the Marine to pick her up. She must have missed him today. Zach returned the smile and knelt down to pick up the five year old. She immediately hugged him as he hugged her back. "How are you doing, sweetheart?" Zach asked.

"Good, I'm glad you're back. I missed you." Clementine said.

"I missed you too." Zach replied as he patted her back.

Natalie looked to Zach with a smile and said, "Your daughter's a cutie."

Clementine released Zach from the hug and looked to Natalie with a smile. Zach shifted the girl to his hip and said, "She's not mine. I went through her house a couple of days after all of this. She was in a tree house and the babysitter was a walker."

"A walker?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah, that's what we call them." Zach said. "Glenn was the one to come up with the name."

"Oh… well, I'd say she's lucky to have you." Natalie said.

Zach bobbed the girl in his arms and said, "I'd say the feeling's mutual." Zach stopped as he noticed Glenn approaching him and Natalie.

"Hey." Glenn said. "How about it? Can I be out of here by tomorrow? I got a map and I spent the day siphoning gas. I have a couple of spare gallons in the trunk of my car. I'm really worried about my friends."

"Yeah, you got it." Zach said. "We'll give you some food and a weapon to defend yourself, but right now, it's getting really dark. It's dangerous to go out at night especially by yourself."

Glenn smiled in response and said, "Cool. Thanks man." He then left for one of the room to rest up for the evening.

Katjaa was the next person to approach Zach and Natalie and said, "Natalie, we have some spare clothes that might fit you."

Natalie looked down at her blood-drenched dress and torn tights. "Yeah, I… guess I could really use a change of clothes." She looked up to Katjaa and smiled to the woman. Katjaa nodded in reply and the two walked over to one of the rooms. They disappeared behind a door as Zach placed Clementine on the ground.

"You want to see what I drew today?" Clementine asked.

"Of course. Let's see what you did today." Zach replied. The two then walked over to see what the child had done that day.

Zach spent the rest of his evening with Clementine as Kenny did the same for Duck. Night came and once again, the group retreated to their own rooms with the exception of Mark who volunteered to keep an eye out for walkers for half the night. Later that night, Kenny would take over and he watched the motor inn until sunrise.

**Morning**

The group surrounded Glenn's pizza delivery car as the young man finished putting some of the collected food rations inside. He finished and looked over to the group. "Well, I guess it's time for me to go." Glenn said.

"Glenn, you should really rethink this. We'll need you." Lilly said.

Glenn shook his head and said, "My friends need me more. I have to find them."

"Be careful out there." Kenny said.

"Always." Glenn said with a smirk.

Zach approached Glenn and said, "You're going to need something to protect yourself." Zach then presented his handgun to Glenn. "Take it. It hasn't failed me yet."

"Are you sure?" Glenn asked.

"I'm sure." Zach replied. Glenn hesitantly accepted the handgun as Zach continued, "I don't have any more ammunition for it. What's in there is what's left."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Glenn said. He looked to the rest of the group and said, "See y'all later."

"Good-bye, Glenn." Carley said as she waved to the young man.

"Be careful." Katjaa said.

Glenn stepped into his car and started up the engine. Meanwhile, Doug and Mark pulled the dumpsters away to allow him to exit. Once there was enough room, Glenn drove his car past the gates and down the road toward Atlanta.

The group dispersed upon seeing the young man leave until it was just Clementine and Zach. Zach held the girl's hand and the two walked toward the area where Clementine would spend most of her day. "Do you think Glenn will be okay?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah, he's tough and crafty. He'll make it." Zach replied.

"That's good." Clementine said with a smile gracing her features. "Do you think we'll ever see him again?"

"I don't know, Clem. I guess we'll see." Zach said.

**3 Months Later**

A walker enjoyed its new meal as Zach approached it from behind. The walker didn't notice the former Marine until he unsheathed his katana slashed the top of the walker's skull. The walker's body hit the ground and released its meal which appeared to a half-eaten rabbit. Mark joined alongside Zach and muttered, "Great. What did it get this time?"

"Looks like a rabbit." Zach replied observing the poor creature that was unfortunate enough to be in the hands of the undead.

"Well, that's another meal lost." Mark said as he walked away from the corpse.

"I hardly call a rabbit a meal, Mark, but hell I'd take it." Zach said as he walked next to the former pilot.

"I can't believe that we went through all of that commissary food so quickly." Mark said.

"Maybe you shouldn't have opened the door." Zach said.

"Yeah, except then I'd probably be food. Trust me, I have no regrets." Mark said. They continued to walk through the woods in search of any wildlife, but there hasn't been anything around. Their supplies started to get low two months after Zach, Lilly, and Kenny had gone to Warner Robins and retrieved the commissary food along with Mark and Natalie.

"I wonder how much food we have left." Mark said.

"You'd have to ask Lilly." Zach replied. "She's the one who's handling the rations."

"Or mishandles them if you ask Kenny." Mark said.

"He's just worried about his boy getting enough to eat." Zach said. He then sighed and said, "I'm worried about Clementine, too. She was so lively when I first met her, but now… She's always tired. She can barely keep her eyes open in the afternoon, and her naps… they're significantly longer."

"She's a growing girl, Zach. She needs food." Mark said.

"Yeah, we all need food. That's why we're out here." Zach replied.

"Yeah, you're right about that." Mark said. The two walked in silence for a couple of seconds. They looked around the area in hopes of finding big game or at the very least something that wasn't an annoying crow.

"Did you hear that Kenny is wanting to leave the motor inn?" Mark asked which broke the silence. "I can't exactly blame him. Did you hear the way Larry went off on him last night?"

"Yeah… Larry's a problem. At some point we're going to need to do something with him." Zach said.

"Whoa man, that's kind of dark." Mark said with a surprised look on his face.

"He is a threat to everyone around him. You know what he did to me and Clem in that pharmacy." Zach said with anger lacing his voice.

"Getting angry at him is not going to help anything." Mark said as he looked around the area with the scope of his hunting rifle. Having found nothing, the two men continued on. They were both silent as they continued through the woods. Suddenly, Mark spotted a crow which had landed on the branch of a nearby tree. He ran over to a rock for cover and took aim with the hunting rifle.

Zach joined alongside him and said, "Don't. Gunshot'll bring walkers and one bird isn't worth that kind of trouble."

Mark sighed as he lowered his hunting rifle and said, "I know. I'm just really hungry."

Suddenly there was an ear piercing scream that was further into the forest. The crow immediately flew off from the loud noise. "Shit! Was that Kenny?" Mark exclaimed.

"No idea!" Zach replied. With that the two ran towards the direction of the screaming. Eventually, the two came to a clearing which showed a grisly scene of a man caught in a bear trap while two teenagers struggled to get him out.

"Holy shit." Mark muttered.

"Oh shit. No, no, no, please don't shoot us." The shorter boy said to them as he got up from trying to free the man from the bear trap. "We just need to get our teacher out, and then we'll leave. You'll never see us again, I swear."

"Zach, you guys ok?" Kenny asked as he entered the clearing.

"Travis, maybe they can help." The taller teen said.

"These guys may be the same guys that raided our camp, and we barely got away from that." Travis replied.

"What guys? Why is there a bear trap out here?" Kenny asked confused by the logic of the two teens, and the fact that there was a bear trap out in the woods which never had bears to begin with.

"Who raided your camp?" Zach asked being equally confused.

"I don't know; guys with guns." The tall teenager replied.

"Ben shut up! My dad was Special Forces; I know what I'm doing!" Travis said

"Kid, relax. We'll try to help you, but you've got to shut the f*** up!" Kenny exclaimed worried that the teen's frantic behavior would draw unwanted attention.

"Just see if you can get him out, then you can leave us or whatever. I don't care." Ben said.

"Zach, this is messed up. We have to help them." Mark said.

"Yeah, let's see if we can get him out." Zach said.

"Oh, yes! Thank you!" The man in the bear trap replied. Mark kneelt down to examine the trap as the man whimpered in pain. "Hurry, please, hurry."

After examining the trap for a couple of seconds, Mark turned to Zach and said, "Zach, this traps been altered. There's no release latch."

Suddenly, there was the sound of gurgled moaning and growling which came from the other end of the clearing. Twenty walkers were making their way to their next meal which was the group. "Oh no." Travis said frightened by the amount of walkers heading their way.

"Shit, walkers!" Kenny exclaimed. "It's now or never Zach!"

"Please!" The man in the bear trap exclaimed. "Get me out of this thing!"

"Mark, keep the boys back!" Zach said to his friend as he squatted down to examine the trap. "Kenny, keep those walkers off of me!" Zach looked over the trap trying to find some flaw with it but found nothing. Then he noticed the chain. "Can we cut this chain with something?" Zach asked over the gun fire.

"No way." Mark replied. "We use chains like that to lift jet engines. You'd need some special and powerful equipment to cut that chain."

Zach looked to the man and immediately spotted his leg. He got up as the man looked to him. "What are you doing?" The man asked.

"There's no other way. I'm going to have to cut you out of there." Zach said.

"What? No! Try the trap! Please anything!" The man pleaded as Zach unsheathed his katana.

"He's already lost so much blood!" Travis exclaimed.

"He's going to lose a lot more." Zach said with a dark tone in his voice. He swung down and successfully sliced the man's leg in half. The man yelled out in pain until he looked down to the stump which used to be his leg. His eyes widened in horror as his leg spurted out blood. He then let out a groan and fell backwards.

Kenny stopped firing at the approaching herd and ran over to the man along with the two teenagers and Mark. Zach sheathed his sword as the group looked down to the man. Travis immediately gagged at the grizzly sight and walked away to puke.

"Is he…" Mark asked struggling to say the last word.

"He passed out." Zach said.

"If he's alive, grab him and let's go!" Kenny exclaimed.

Mark nodded and walked up to the man. He proceeded to lift the one-legged, plump man and placed him on his shoulders. Mark groaned as lifted the plump man. It was obvious that the man was heavy. "You okay?" Zach asked.

"He's heavy." Mark grunted.

The taller boy, Ben, and Zach looked back to the walkers and were horrified to see that Travis was getting surrounded. The shorter boy had just finished throwing up and was unaware of the danger he was in.

"Travis!" Ben exclaimed as he tried to run over to help his friend.

However, Zach stopped the boy and held him back. "It's too late! We got to move, NOW!" Zach exclaimed. Zach tried to haul Ben away but not before they witnessed Travis's reaction.

The shorter boy gasped in horror upon seeing the approaching walkers and started to back away. However, he fell backwards and was soon pinned down by the walkers. In a gruesome display, the walkers ripped him apart. One went for his neck, two others ripped into torso and started to eat his intestines, while another ate his leg. He screamed in pain as Zach and Ben watched on in horror. Zach shook his head to focus and said, "Come on. There's nothing we can do for him."

Finally, Ben moved in the opposite direction with Zach following close behind. Several more walkers limped in the same direction but at their speed, they wouldn't be able to catch up to the group.

* * *

Finally, the motor inn was in sight. The group had been moving as fast as they could since the incident with the two teens and the man who was caught in the bear trap. "How much further?" Mark asked.

"A little more ways." Zach replied as he took the lead. He came out of the bushes and immediately saw Lilly aiming at him. She huffed in relief to see him as Zach exclaimed, "Get the gates open! We've got wounded!" Those few words were all that were necessary. The whole camp went on high alert after hearing them and everyone ran to the front gate.

"Come on. Come on." Zach said as he kept the gate open for Mark to get inside.

"What's going on?" Carley asked.

Ben snuck inside as soon as he could which infuriated Larry. "Who the heck are these people?" Larry inquired as Kenny and Mark got the one-legged man to the truck. Zach got inside and quickly placed the dumpster back into its original place.

"There's no time for me to explain." Zach said.

"Zach, are you okay?" Clementine asked.

"Put him on the truck and I'll see what I can do." Natalie said as Mark and Kenny placed the one-legged man in the back of the truck.

"You think you can fix him?" Kenny asked as he turned to Natalie. Meanwhile, Lilly yelled for Zach in the background but he couldn't hear her over all of the mayhem.

"I'll try, but I don't know if I can-" Natalie said but was interrupted by Lilly.

"ZACH!" Lilly exclaimed. Everyone immediately turned to the leader of the group and became quiet. "What the hell? You can't just be bringing new people here! What were you thinking?"

"Hey, you want to calm down for a f******** minute?" Kenny asked with glare aimed at Lilly.

"Hey! Watch your mouth!" Larry scolded Kenny.

"No I don't. I want to know why you thought bringing more mouths to feed was a good idea." Lilly said.

"He would have died if we left him." Zach said.

"So what?" Larry asked coldly.

"We are not responsible for every struggling survivor out there! We have focus on our group! Right here, right now!" Lilly said.

"Well hang on. We don't even know these people yet. Maybe they can be helpful." Carley said.

"That's right. Where do you think we would be without Natalie or Mark? If we want to beat this thing, then we need to find people who need our help. We help them now; they help us out in the future." Zach said.

"The only reason they're here is because they had food, enough for all of us! But that food is almost gone now. We have maybe a week's worth left!" Lilly said to Zach. She turned her icy cold glare towards Ben who was starting to shake in fear. "And I don't suppose you are carrying any groceries, are you?"

"Um, no," Ben said.

"Fine you guys fight it out then." Mark said to both Lilly and Kenny and directed his attention to Ben. "Welcome to the family, kid." Mark then left the group and went over to get his bearings.

Meanwhile, Clementine approached Ben and said, "Come o'er here and see what I drew."

"What-no I…" Ben stuttered to get the words out.

"Just come on, okay?" Clementine said to the teen to get him out of the group politics. She started to drag him away as yet another argument started brew.

"You like to think you're the leader of this group but we can make our own decisions." Kenny said. "This isn't your own personal dictatorship."

"Oh, come on, you're being over-dramatic." Carley said as she rolled her eyes at the two adults who acted like two-year-olds at times. They both glared at her as she finally gave in. "Everything turns into a power struggle between you two. I'm not going to be a part of that." She then walked away.

With the group now scattered, Natalie and Katjaa immediately went to work in trying to save the one-legged man's life. Natalie ran for her room to grab some of her medical supplies as Katjaa tried to stop the bleeding.

"Hey, I didn't ask to lead this group. Everyone was happy to let me deal out supplies, but now that it's running low, suddenly I'm a damn Nazi!" Lilly said.

"It doesn't matter who's in charge; those people are here now." Zach said. The two arguing adults glared at him next.

"No, Zach. It does matter." Kenny said. "One person can't be in charge of everything. It may be safe for you to sit on the fence but sooner or later you're going to have to decide whose side you're on." The red-neck then started to walk away with an angry scowl.

"We're all on the same damn side, Kenny!" Zach exclaimed but it was no use. Kenny was ignoring him. "F******." Zach spat with frustration in his voice.

"I don't see the rest of you stepping up to make all the hard decisions my girl has to make." Larry said. "My girl's got more balls than all of you combined."

"Dad, please, why don't you go and help Mark with the wall?" Lilly asked while blushing with embarrassment from her father's previous statement. Larry grumbled in response and started to leave. As he left, he shoved Doug out of the way and walked over to work on the wall. Doug sent a glare at the older man but only temporarily. He quickly went back to work on his alarm system.

"You think this is easy for me? Everyone's starting to hate me because I'm the one handing out the food but no one else will do it!" Lilly said as she went through the gathered up food rations for the day. "You know what? I'm not doing it today." Lilly said as she shoved the four food items into Zach's hands. "Here's today's food rations, there is not enough to go around." She then left and took up her position on top of the RV.

Zach looked around as everyone in the group looked to him. He had to feed twelve hungry people with half an apple, two cheese and cracker packs, and a piece of beef jerky. Zach sighed as everyone went back to their previous activities.

He looked over to Clementine first and started to walk towards her. She was no longer wearing her white dress. Instead, she was now wearing a cream dress with a yellow and white striped long-sleeve shirt underneath. She was also wearing a thicker pair of tights to stay warm from the cooler climate. Zach also noticed that the girl was missing her trademark hat. He made a note to ask her about her missing hat as he got closer to her. She noticed him approaching her, and she got up. She walked over to him with tired eyes aimed at him.

"How are you doing, Clementine?" Zach asked.

"Okay." Clementine said. It was evident the girl was tired. Her eyes were half open. Zach bent down and picked up the five year old. She relaxed her head on his shoulder as the young man rubbed her back.

"What happened to your hat?" Zach asked.

"I don't know. I had it a couple days ago." Clementine said. A yawned escaped her lips which made Zach stop. He had forgotten that the girl would fall asleep instantly if he held her and rubbed or scratched her back. He had been with her for three months and had learned how to take care of her through mostly trial and error.

"I'll see if I can find it." Zach said. "In the meantime, I bet you're hungry." He stood her up much to the girl's whined cry. "You won't be as tired if you eat." Zach said as he handed the girl the apple.

A small smile formed in her features and she accepted the apple. "Thank you. I like apples."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Zach said. He looked around and said, "I have to go take care of some things. How about you go back to drawing? Carley will watch you."

"Okay." Clementine said as she returned to drawing.

Zach went in the same direction and focused on Duck. "Hey, Duck. How are you holding up?" Zach asked.

"I'm okay. Clementine and I are coloring." Duck said.

"Guess what it is?" Clementine asked as she held up a drawing of a cat.

"I don't know. A dog?" Ben guessed.

"Nope." Clementine said.

"Oh, I know!" Duck said. "It's a goat!"

"No…" Clementine said with frustration lacing her voice.

"Here, Duck. How about some food." Zach said as he handed the boy one of the cheese and cracker packs to the boy.

"Oh yeah!" Duck exclaimed. "Oh man, I'm so hungry." He quickly started to gulf down the contents as Zach turned to Carley.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Zach asked.

"I'm okay… I, um… I had that nightmare again last night, before I went on shift." Carley said with sadness lacing her voice.

"The one where you lost Doug?" Zach asked as he looked over to the plump man.

"Yeah." Carley said sadly.

Zach looked back to her and said, "Don't worry. Doug's a lot stronger now than what he was a couple months ago."

"But Zach, he's never been out there, not on his own." Carley said.

"He doesn't have to experience that. He's got a group, and more importantly, he's got you." Zach said.

Carley looked up to Zach with a smile and said, "Thanks, Zach. I guess you're right."

"Besides, I'm more worried about you." Zach said with a smirk. "I mean, batteries are very technologically advanced, and I don't know if you can handle them."

"Oh shut up!" Carley said as she tried stifle a chuckle. Zach started to laugh as the two adults looked back to Doug. Carley sighed and said, "Thanks for um… the other day. At least now, when civilization rebuilds, Doug and I will be together… no matter what."

"Yeah well, keep in mind that I'm not an official Minister. If things return to normal, the state can easily dissolve your marriage, if it wants to." Zach said.

"Then we'll go find a Minister who can officially marry us." Carley said.

"Sounds like a plan." Zach said.

"I bet, especially with you and Natalie." Carley said.

"Wait, what?" Zach asked as his cheeks started to flare up.

"You and Natalie. Everyone can tell that you two like each other." Carley said.

Zach sighed as he pulled out his wedding band which was now in his blue denim jeans. He had also replaced his black shirt with a grey long-sleeve shirt. However, he did keep his combat boots and backpack. "I can't…" Zach said. "I still feel that pain."

"Sorry that I brought it up. I just thought that you were over the grieving process." Carley said.

"Part of me is, but… I still have some stuff to deal with." Zach said as he placed the ring back into his pocket. He cleared his throat and said, "So… Doug talked to me yesterday about kids and babies. Are you um…?"

"No, I'm not." Carley said sadly. She sighed and said, "We both want a child now that we're married, but… there's a couple of problems."

"What do you mean?" Zach asked.

"Zach, I'm not sure if I'm ready to bear a child." She looked up to the young man and continued, "I can't bring a baby in this world. What if it doesn't survive? What if it dies inside of me? What if I die from childbirth?"

"Carley…" Zach said in an attempt to calm the woman.

"Don't say it won't happen!" Carley said with a scowl aimed at him. In response, he tried to send a comforting stare at the woman. She huffed and looked down sadly. "The possibility of those things happening are higher than they ever were before." Carley said

"We'll figure something out." Zach said. "You just need time to think about it."

Carley gave the young man a thankful smile before she looked back down. "The other problem is that… neither Doug nor I know how to take care of a boy. I mean we can always wing it, but it would be a lot easier if we had a little girl, like Clem." Carley said.

"That makes sense." Zach said. He looked over to Doug and said, "I remember Doug telling me how he was always bullied by the boys in his class. It'd be a lot easier on him if he had a daughter."

"And I don't have much experience in looking after boys. I looked after Duck once, and I was completely overwhelmed. Doug didn't know what to do either." Carley said. "But, we've looked after Clementine before and we both enjoyed that."

"Not every girl is like Clem and not every boy is like Duck." Zach said.

"I know, but… I think Doug and I want a girl." Carley said.

"Well, keep praying. God knows what's best for us, even when we don't." Zach said. "Anyway, here you need to eat." Zach said as he handed the other cheese and cracker pack to Carley.

"Me? What about you, Zach? You look like crap." Carley said.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine." Zach replied.

"You should take it." Carley said. "I owe you more than a day's ration."

Zach sighed in defeat and said, "Fine. I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, see ya." Carley said.

Zach looked over toward the RV and saw Kenny looking over a spare metal pipe. He had been working on the RV for months now, and it was close to starting up. Zach stood in front of Kenny and said, "Word's got it that you're leaving the motor inn."

"That ain't no secret, Zach. It's probably our best bet of getting to safety." Kenny said.

"Ken, you're out there every day with me and Mark. You know how bad it is out there. This place is safe." Zach said.

"Safe?" Kenny inquired. His face scrunched up into a confused and angry gaze. "Where have you been for the last three months? This isn't safe."

"It's a hell of a lot safer than going out there, especially if you're bringing your family along." Zach said.

"Oh yeah, well what if this place falls and the walkers come? Then what?" Kenny asked.

"Then this RV will be used in our escape. We'll find another place to call home." Zach said.

"No, we have to get to the coast. That is where we'll be safe." Kenny said.

"What makes you think that the coast is safer? If anything, it's more dangerous since there are huge cities along the coast." Zach said.

"My mind is made up, Zach. We're leaving and I would like for you to come with me." Kenny said.

Zach huffed as he shook his head. "I can't. I can't put Clem's or Natalie's life in danger, especially when we have it good here. The only huge problem we have is the fact that we have no food. Other than that, the motor inn gives us everything we need."

"Suit yourself, but there's always room for you in the RV." Kenny said.

"I appreciate it, Ken." Zach said. He looked around the motor inn and said, "I need to get back to giving out rations. Talk you later."

"Yup, later." Kenny said as he went back to examining the spare metal pipe. Meanwhile, Zach started to walk over to Doug.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Kind of a weird place to cut it off, but I think it's reasonable. As you can tell, a lot has happened in the past three months.**

**Also, if you're wondering about Natalie's apparel, she's wearing a purple plaid long sleeve shirt over an orange shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of grey shoes.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach approached Doug as the plump man continued to work on his alarm system. He had been working on it over the past couple of months. It would have been completed a while ago, but he and Carley got wrapped up into their new and unexpected love for one another. "Hey Doug." Zach said which surprised the plump man. He jumped upon hearing his name and hit his head on one of the bells.

"Ah…" Doug said. He got up to address the Marine and said, "Hey Zach, how it going?"

"It's going alright." Zach said. He looked to the alarm system and asked, "How are you doing with the alarm system?"

Doug smiled and said, "I'm glad that you asked. She's all finished. I got four different threads of tripwire outside the fence and they're all in different locations."

"So we'll know where they're coming and how long we've got to prepare. Nice job." Zach said.

"Thanks. I'm just glad that I'm contributing to the group." Doug said.

"You contribute enough." Zach said.

"No, I don't. I never go on watch or risk my life in trying to get supplies for the group. I'm not like you or Kenny." Doug said with a frown forming in the place of his smile.

"You don't need to do those things. We got plenty of people who can do that. But I don't think that there's a lot of people here who can make an alarm system as elaborate as what you got there from scratch. That takes a very special person." Zach said.

"I… never thought of it that way." Doug said. He smiled to Zach and said, "Thanks, I guess I don't give myself enough credit."

"Exactly." Zach said. "And since we're on the topic of you being important to the group. Here." He pulled out a cheese and cracker pack and tried to hand it to Doug.

However, Doug refused by shaking his head and said, "No way man. You've done a lot for me and Car. You can have my share for today."

"Look, you two need to eat." Zach said. "Why don't you two just split the ration?" Zach asked.

"I… I guess that seems reasonable. Thanks Zach." Doug said as he finally accepted the food ration. Doug looked over to Carley and started to make his way over to her.

Meanwhile Zach looked to the last food item in his hands and looked over to Natalie and Katjaa. He made his way toward the two woman who were working fiercely to save the man's life.

"Is everything alright?" Zach asked.

"I don't know. I'm just… Zach, this man has no leg." Katjaa said. She sounded completely overwhelmed. Her medical training allowed her to deal with many medical scenarios, but the task of sewing up such a traumatic injury was intimidating for the former veterinarian.

"He did the right thing." Natalie said as she continued to work on the man's leg. "This man would have been ripped apart if Zach didn't cut off his leg." She was calmer than Katjaa which indicated that she had previous training for treating such an injury, but there was still a tang of nervousness in her voice. Natalie didn't know if she could save the man's life.

"I guess Kenny talked to you two about what happened." Zach said.

"Yeah, he did." Natalie said. "You saved this man's life."

Zach nodded before he extended the piece of beef jerky to the woman. "Do you two want anything to eat?"

"I… no, we're a little tied up right now." Katjaa said.

"I don't want anything. I kind of lost my appetite." Natalie said while she stifled a chuckle. "I heard Mark was really hungry. Go check with him."

"Sure thing." Zach said and he left the two woman. He walked over to Mark and Larry who were trying to keep a wooden board in place long enough so that Larry could hammer the nails in.

"Will you hold the damn board steady?" Larry inquired.

"I'm trying." Mark replied. "I didn't know I was getting this weak."

"Oh what do you want? A handout?" Larry scoffed. "I got sixty cents in my pocket if you shut up and quit being such a pansy."

Zach approached the two and said, "Hey Mark."

The former pilot turned to Zach and said, "Hey Zach. You alright? That was pretty messed up back there when you had to cut the guy's leg off."

"There was no other way." Zach said. "At least this way, he has a chance."

"Yeah, a very slim one though." Mark said. "The crippled don't last for very long in a world like this."

"Except when they have a strong group protecting them." Zach replied.

"Yeah, you got a point there." Mark said.

"Those parasites are not staying here." Larry said with an angry tone. "It was a mistake to bring them here in the first place."

Zach ignored Larry and continued to talk with Mark. "I heard you were hungry." Zach said as he pulled out the piece of beef jerky. "Here, you got to keep up your strength."

Mark smiled to his friend and accepted the small piece of food. "Thanks Zach." Mark said.

"I'll see you later." Zach said.

"Yeah, see ya." Mark said as he went back to fortifying the wall.

Zach walked back over to Lilly who seemed to have calmed down from earlier. Her eyes read sympathy for the Marine. She was sympathetic for forcing Zach to give out the rations. She knew how stressful the experience was. "Well, it's done." Zach said.

"Not such an easy job, is it?" Lilly asked.

"I never said it was." Zach replied. He looked around quickly and noticed that not everyone was happy over his decisions. Ben, Larry, Katjaa, Natalie, Kenny, Lilly, and Zach himself would have to go hungry for the rest of the day. "I don't envy you; I'm not sure how you have the strength to do this every day."

"I usually don't have a choice." Lilly said.

"Hey Zach." Kenny said as he approached the young Marine.

"Ken, I know I ran out of food before I could get to you, but-" Zach said.

"Hey, it was a tough call, but you looked after the kids. That's what a real man does." Kenny said with a smile. "I'm serious about that offer. You and Clem are more than welcome in the RV with me."

"Thanks Ken. I'll keep that in mind." Zach said. Zach knew that the RV was a bad idea, but he knew it was always best to have a back-up plan.

"Still, I don't think everyone will be happy with your choices." Kenny said.

As if on cue, Larry's grumpy voice was heard a couple feet behind Zach. "You're out. What happened to my food?" Larry inquired.

Zach turned to the older man and said, "There's none left."

"You keep treating people like this and your days in this group will be numbered." Larry said with an angry scowl aimed at Zach.

"You're one to talk old man." Kenny said as he sent a glare towards Larry.

"Yeah? Well, I don't see you working on that wall." Larry retorted. He then turned around and headed back for the wall.

Kenny sent an icy glare at the older man before he went back to the couch that he was sitting at earlier. However, shortly after he sat down, Natalie called both him and Zach over.

"Zach, Ken come here, please." Natalie called out from the truck bed. The two men looked to each other before they walked over to Natalie. Katjaa was out of sight and Natalie was noticeably saddened. The one-legged man lied motionless in the truck bed. All of which didn't equate to good news at all.

"He didn't make it, did he?" Kenny asked.

"He lost too much blood." Natalie responded.

"Dammit! I'm getting sick of this shit." Kenny complained as walked away and threw the pipe to the ground. It bounced off the ground and hit the RV before it finally landed on the ground with a thud.

Natalie sighed and allowed her head to droop down. "Man, what a rough morning." Natalie said.

"Yeah…" Zach said with a saddened tone. He had done all he could to save the man's life, but it still wasn't enough. He took a gamble with the man's life. It was the only way that the man could be saved, but Zach lost that gamble. The one-legged man was dead.

Natalie looked up to the tall teen, Ben, and asked, "What are we going to do with that boy?"

Before Zach could reply a pair of hands latched onto Natalie. She screamed in surprise and horror from the sudden attack as Zach yelled, "Shit, Natalie!" He placed one hand on the woman's back and one hand on the one-legged man's chest to separate the two. The one-legged man somehow reanimated as a walker… but how? Zach's raw strength eventually succeeded in separating the two. The one-legged man turned walker growled at Zach as he drew his katana. The walker lunged forward with the use of its good leg. However, Zach stepped back to avoid the walker's attack and quickly slashed the top of the creature's skull. He huffed as everyone in the motor inn gathered around. They were horrified to see that the one-legged man had somehow become a walker.

Zach sheathed his katana as he heard a light sobbing next to him. He turned to see Natalie shaking in fear. The young woman had not yet adjusted to the horror of this new world. She was used to being the medic of the group, not a warrior.

Zach looked to her with sympathetic eyes and he slowly walked up to her. He hugged her as she shuttered for a second. "Sh… it's okay." Zach said as he started to rub her back. "You're alright."

"I… I could have died." Natalie sobbed. Her voice was filled with fear.

"It's over now. It won't hurt you." Zach said with a soothing voice.

Natalie's whimpers started to cease and her trembling body was starting to relax until both she and Zach heard Larry. "Why'd you bring him hear in the first place, asshole?" Larry bellowed.

"Dad, calm down." Lilly said as she got between Zach who had Natalie wrapped in his arms and Larry.

"You're going to get us all killed." Larry bellowed. He then stormed off with Lilly chasing after him to calm him down.

Zach huffed as he tried to control the anger he had for Larry. He despised the old man, and it wasn't entirely on the fact that the older man was constantly blaming him for something that happened. The main reason Zach hated the older man was for what he did at the pharmacy. He not only nearly killed Zach, but he also nearly killed a little girl.

Zach turned his attention back to Natalie and patted her on the back before he released her from his hug. She looked up to him with tears falling down her face, but she wore a smile. She mouthed a thank you to the Marine who smiled back. Amaya would have never let him coddle her like Natalie allowed him to. That was one thing that Zach loved about Natalie. She was strong, but when things got to be too much for her, she would let him take over, and he would be there to prevent her from trying to fight her emotions alone.

"Why didn't he tell us he was bitten?" Kenny's angry outburst brought both Natalie and Zach back to reality. They looked over to see Kenny staring down at Ben.

"What?" Ben asked with confusion lacing his voice.

"He was bitten, and you didn't say a damn word." Kenny accused.

"But he wasn't bitten, I swear." Ben said.

"What do you mean he wasn't bitten?" Zach asked. He wasn't angry at the teenager like Kenny was. If anything, Zach was more confused by the teenager's logic. "He came back to life and nearly killed Natalie. He had to have been bitten. How else would he have come back?"

"Wait a minute. You guys don't know?" Ben said.

"What are you talking about?" Carley asked.

"It's not the bite that does it." Ben said. He looked around and saw that all eyes were on him. He gulped before he continued, "You come back no matter how you die, if you don't destroy the brain that's just what happens. It's going to happen to all of us."

"God help us." Zach said. He shook his head in disbelief as he tried to understand the words he just heard. This was overwhelming news. It was something that he and everyone around him weren't expecting.

"It makes sense. In those first couple of weeks, there seemed to be so many of them." Mark said.

"Car accidents, suicides, everything was making more of them." Lilly said.

"When I first saw it happen, we were all in the gymnasium, and we all thought we were safe." Ben said. "But then one of the girl couldn't handle it… We went to the girl's room the next morning and… it wasn't good."

Suddenly, Doug's device came to life with one of the bells starting to ring. It signaled that there was something or someone outside. Everyone immediately squatted down and heard two voices outside the fence. It sounded like two men who were around their thirties.

"What the hell is this?" The first voice asked.

"Watch where you're walking man." The second voice said.

"Doug, it works," Mark whispered.

"Of course it works; I designed it." Doug replied

"Good job, Doug." Carley said. "Maybe we should stay low and wait for them to pass by."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking." Lilly said.

Unfortunately, the voices were only getting closer, and it combined with the sound of their feet getting louder. "We have to make a stand." Kenny whispered.

"No, we don't engage unless we have to." Lilly whispered.

"No, we have to do this. I'm sorry." Kenny said. He quickly got up and raised his hunting rifle at the two men. "That's far enough!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Whoa, whoa, ok, ok." One of the men said. With the camp exposed, everyone in the group got upright and looked to the direction of the two men. They both seemed remarkably similar. They must have been related in some way.

"We don't want any trouble," Zach said to the two men.

"Of course, neither do we. Me and my brother here, we're just lookin for gasoline. You folks seem to have the motor in locked down which is fine but if you could spare any gasoline, we'd be much obliged." One of the men said.

"Why do you need gas for?" Carley asked.

"Our place is protected by an electric fence. Generators provide the electricity." The other man said.

"Our generators run on gas." The first man explained. "Listen, I'm Andrew St. John, this here is my brother, Danny. We run a dairy farm a little ways from here and if y'all are willing to lower your guns, we could talk about some kind of trade."

"How y'all doin on food? We got plenty at the dairy." Danny said.

Everyone's eyes lit up at the mention of food. It was the one thing that the motor inn lacked, and everyone was half starved. Even the people who received the rations from earlier were evidently hungry.

"Zach, how about you and Mark go check this place out, see if it's legit?" Lilly said to the Marine.

"I'm coming with you." Carley said. "I got your back in case things seem fishy."

"I'll come too." Doug said. "I can take a look at that electric fence and see if I could make something back here at the motor inn."

"So what're y'all thinking?" Andrew asked from outside the gate.

"You've got a deal. We'll bring some gas to your dairy, and in exchange, you give us some food to take back. We'll see how it goes from there." Zach said.

"Sounds fair, a couple of gallon can keep our generator's going for quite a while." Andrew responded. With that, Mark and Doug opened up the fence for the two brothers as Zach walked over to the room that he and Clementine shared.

Inside his room, Zach removed his backpack which contained of all of his equipment and weapons, including his katana. "What are you doing?" Carley asked. She stood at the door way to his room with a questionable look on her face.

"It might not be a bad idea to go with just the essentials." Zach said as he searched his backpack. Eventually, he pulled out his military-issued knife and holster and placed it on his belt.

"You don't trust them?" Natalie asked as she and Clementine entered the room.

"Trust is earned. We barely know these people." Zach said.

"You trusted me immediately when we first met. Why would anything change?" Natalie asked.

"You needed help, but now, the tables have turned. WE are the ones who need help now. That means they have the advantage." Zach said as he looked over to Andrew and Danny. His gaze was not of suspicion; instead it was of curiosity. He didn't know how this would play out.

Clementine walked up to Zach and raised her arms up for the young man to pick her up. Zach obliged and hugged the little girl. "Be good for Natalie while I'm gone, baby girl." Zach said to Clementine.

"You won't have to worry about that." Natalie said as she offered her arms out to the girl. "She's always good for me." Clementine smiled to the woman and leaned her body towards her in a gesture to let Natalie hold her. Zach allowed Natalie to take the small five year old and smiled to the two.

"I'll see you both later." Zach said as he gave a warm smile to Natalie and Clementine.

"Be careful out there." Natalie said with concern lacing her voice.

"I usually am?" Zach asked as he headed out the door and walked over to where Doug, Ben, and Mark were.

"When you say usually, does that mean never?" Carley asked as she joined alongside Zach.

"Hey, that's enough from the peanut gallery." Zach said as he stifled a chuckle.

Zach and Carley walked up to Mark, Doug, and Ben as Andrew gave a quick head nod to Zach. Mark turned around and addressed the two. "Hey, you two ready?" Mark asked.

"As ready as we're going to be." Carley replied.

"Cool, your friend here, just got us set up with some of y'all's gasoline." Andrew said as he held up a red container. "You stay close to us while we're out there. Those roads can be dangerous."

"Trust me. We know that from experience." Mark said. He turned to Zach and said, "I hope you won't mind if we bring Ben along. I figured since he's been in those woods, he would know what's lurking around out there."

"That's a very good idea." Zach said to Mark. He looked to Ben and said, "Welcome aboard, kid."

"Thanks… I guess." Ben said with a shaky voice. He seemed to be nervous about returning into the woods.

"Don't worry, kid." Doug said. "You got a whole group coming with you this time."

Ben smiled to the adult and said, "Thanks."

The group departed with Andrew, Danny, Mark, and Ben at the front of the group and Zach, Carley, and Doug in the back. They heard the dumpster being put back in place by the group that stayed behind as the group that went with the two brothers walked further into the forest.

* * *

The group walked through what seemed to be endless forest. The afternoon sun showed above the advancing group which heated up the cool ground below, but not to the point to where it was warm. It still felt cool out.

Zach looked up to the sky as he overheard Mark talking to the brothers up ahead. It was calm and peaceful, but it was missing something. It wasn't an afternoon without Clementine. She would always make his day better.

"So this place really has food?" Mark asked.

"Yup, we lost most of the cattle but we still have plenty of milk, butter, and cheese stocked up." Andrew explained.

"And with the vegetables we grow, we got plenty of food." Danny added in.

"It's finally nice to have some peace and quiet." Carley said which broke the silence amongst the three. "This whole Kenny-Lilly thing is starting to get out of hand." She looked to Zach and said, "Personally, I wouldn't mind if you started to take charge."

"I agree. You've been there for everyone." Doug said.

"Yeah, well not everyone likes me so well." Zach said.

"Forget about Larry. He pretty much hates everyone, except for Lilly." Doug said.

"Doug's right." Carley said. "You have one negative vote, against how many others who would want you to be leader."

"Well, there's a lot more to it than just that." Zach said. "As far as I'm concerned, I think Lilly's doing a good job. We're all just a little tense because of the food situation."

"Yeah, you're right about that." Doug said. "Thanks for the rations earlier. It really helped. I didn't how hungry I was."

"You and I both, hon." Carley said to Doug.

"Anyway, thanks for coming along Doug." Zach said.

"Yeah, no problem. Like I said, I'd like to take a look at the fence." Doug said.

"So, can an electric fence really stop walkers?" Carley asked.

"Well as long as the walkers are completely dehydrated and the fence has enough juice, then yeah. It seems possible." Doug replied.

The three became silent again as the conversation ahead of them continued. "I mean thank goodness, Zach showed up when he did." Mark said finishing his story of when the group saved him from air force base.

"Yeah, Zach why don't you tell us a little more about yourself?" Andrew said as he and Danny slowed their pace to talk to him. Zach walked between the two brothers and awaited their questions.

"Where you from?" Danny asked.

"I grew up in Atlanta." Zach responded. "I got stationed in… well all over the US. I eventually went to Afghanistan."

"Afghanistan? You military?" Andrew asked. "I guess it does make sense given how fit you are."

"I was in the Marines." Zach said.

"Damn, hardcore man." Andrew said.

"So, you're probably running things over there." Danny said. "Considering that you have the training."

"No, Lilly's in charge." Zach replied.

"Yeah Lilly knows her shit, but she needs to learn to back off." Mark said.

"How many you got over there?" Andrew asked.

"Eleven including the kids." Zach responded.

"You forgot Ben." Doug said. "That makes it twelve." Ben looked to Doug with a smile. He was glad that someone had already accepted him into the group.

"Well, we'd like to get you all to the dairy and-" Andrew began but immediately stopped when he heard a couple of voices in the distance. "Oh shit. Get down." Andrew whispered. Everyone obliged with Zach, Carley, Doug, and Mark looking to each other questionably. However, Ben seemed noticeably uncomfortable. They followed Andrew and Danny as the two men made their way toward the center of the yelling. They headed for a couple of trees that surrounded the path to find two men arguing. Their apparel was bizarre. They both covered their faces as if they were ready to perform a robbery. Zach, Doug, Ben, and Andrew watched on as they stayed hidden while Danny and Mark readied themselves with their hunting rifles and Carley took cover behind a tree with her handgun at the ready.

"Who are these guys?" Zach asked.

"Bandits, a bunch of rowdy low-lives that are extremely dangerous." Andrew explained. "Don't worry though. If things get hairy, me and Danny will back you up."

"These look like the same guys who raided my camp." Ben said.

"Can we take them?" Carley asked.

"No, there's more of them. They're all hidden." Danny explained. "Let's just wait for them to pass."

Suddenly, the argument hit its climax as one of the bandits yelled, "F*** you!" He kicked the other bandit away and fired at him. He repeated the phrase several times as he shot what was left of his comrade. "F*** you… F*** you... F*** you…" Doug and Ben looked on shocked by the extreme form of violence as Mark and Danny tensed up and held up their hunting rifles to shoot the bandit if he was to spot them. The bandit finished his work and muttered, "Asshole!" He then walked away from the gruesome murder and back into the forest.

"The world out here has gone to shit." Andrew said. "Come on, let's get to the dairy where it's safe."

"Agreed." Zach said. They left the gruesome murder behind them and continued in their path towards the dairy. They were silent the rest of the way. All of them were terrified by what they saw, even Zach. However, a thought occurred to him. Did the bandit deserved such a gruesome end? He could have killed dozens of people. Maybe he deserved to have died such a gruesome death. He shook his head out of such dark thoughts and looked up to the sky.

* * *

The group of seven travelled up the path as Zach, Carley, Doug, Ben, and Mark looked in awe at the beautiful farm. "Welcome to the St. John's Family Dairy." Andrew exclaimed with a smile on his face as the group walked up the path that led to the house. Doug separated from the group to take a close look at the fence as Andrew continued, "You can see how we've kept this place so safe."

"The fence keeps them out?" Carley asked intrigued by the fact that walkers weren't a problem for once.

"You bet! They fry like bugs in a zapper!" Andrew exclaimed. "We're pushing four thousand bolts of electricity through it with generators and amps."

"Wow, that's impressive." Doug said as he returned to the group. "You must know quite a bit about wiring and fuses."

"We didn't but Mac-he was our foreman-was able to charge up the fence." Andrew said. "We'd come out here some nights and watch the sons of bitches sizzle and pop. The closest form of entertainment these days. The farm is worth protecting."

They reached the front gate as Zach looked to the fence with concern in his eyes. "We've got kids in our group. It doesn't seem safe for them to be close to that fence." Zach said.

"Oh don't worry about that." Andrew said. "We've got plenty to keep 'em entertained."

"I thought I saw you with company coming up the drive." An older woman said as she approached the group. She carried a wooden basket which held a sweet and savory aroma.

"Guy's this is our momma." Andrew said.

"Hello, my name is Brenda St. John and welcome to the St. John's Dairy." Brenda greeted the group with a joyful smile.

"This here's Zach." Andrew said as he gestured to the former Marine. "He's from Atlanta. Used to be a Marine."

"Really, quite amazing for what you do for our country." Brenda said.

"Thank you." Zach said as he gave a solemn nod.

"He's got a few more friends down at the old motor inn." Danny said.

Brenda went from her happy and joyful self to becoming serious and concern upon hearing Danny's words. "Oh my, that place is very vulnerable. Do you have someone in your group to follow or are you in charge, dear?" Brenda asked.

"No, I'm no leader. Lilly's in charge." Zach said. "She's tough as nails and helps us focus on what we need to do to survive."

"She and her dad are ex-military, like me and Zach." Mark added.

Brenda expressed immediate relief and said, "That's good to hear. That motel is not the safest place, but now that you're here, we can make you nice and comfortable."

"We're awfully hungry." Zach said as he felt his stomach growl because of the lack of food.

"This is for y'all, baked fresh this morning." Brenda said as she offered the sweet smelling basket which was revealed to be a basket of fresh, homemade rolls.

"Holy molly." Doug exclaimed as his mouth started to water from the sweet aroma. Having just a half of a ration wasn't satisfying enough. His stomach craved more. He accepted the basket and ate a couple of rolls in a heartbeat. Mark and Zach stared at Doug as he continued to eat the rolls. "Sorry." Doug said with his mouth full and crumbs falling down his face.

"Save some for me, why don't you?" Carley said with a smirk. She placed her hand in the basket and pulled out one of the rolls.

"You can't make stuff like that anymore, not without a cow for milk and butter." Danny said.

"That's right." Brenda said. She frowned as she looked over to the main barn and continued, "Hopefully, Maybelle will get through this bout of whatever she's got and be with us for a good long while."

"Your cow is sick. What she-" Zach said but he was interrupted by Mark

"We have a vet! We can bring her here! We help you folks out!" Mark exclaimed.

Brenda lit up and exclaimed, "A vet? Oh my, our prayers have been answered!"

"Maybe our whole group can come down for the day." Mark suggested.

"Well how about this?" Brenda said. "You go get your veterinarian friend and I'll prepare some dinner, a feast for all you hungry souls. It'll be nice to have someone help out around here again." Brenda then directed her attention to Danny and said, "Danny dear, why don't you come and help me with dinner." Danny gave a nod and the two left for the house.

"Doug and I will go back and gather everyone for the trip over." Carley said.

"We might want to take Ben with us, just in case." Doug said. Carley nodded in agreement and looked to the teen. He nodded back in response which indicated that he wouldn't mind going back to the group with the married couple.

"Here, take this." Mark said as he handed his hunting rifle to Doug. "It'll do you more good than it'll do me."

"Thanks." Doug said as he accepted the rifle.

"Alright, be safe, guys." Carley said to Mark and Zach. She then led the way back to the motor inn with Doug and Ben behind her.

"Hey Mark, Zach, why don't ya take a look around." Andrew said. "Once you get settled in, I could use some help securin the perimeter."

"Is there a problem?" Zach asked with a bit of concern lacing his voice. From what he heard from Andrew and Danny earlier, Zach thought that the fence was perfect for fending off mostly anything.

"Sometimes, the dead get tangled up in the fence before they fry and end up knocking over a post." Andrew explained. "It'd be a big help if you two could walk the perimeter." Zach became less nervous upon hearing that the fence only had a few minor problems and there wasn't anything too seriously wrong with it. Andrew looked over to the generator and quickly turned back to the men. "I'm going to go top off the generator, before it runs dry. Come and get me when you're ready." Andrew then left and walked over to the small generator.

"You betcha." Mark said as Andrew walked over to the generator. He turned to Zach and said, "This place is INCREDIBLE!" Zach was slightly surprised by the enthusiasm of the pilot. He knew that Mark always looked on the bright side of every situation, but Zach had never seen Mark so content. "It has food! And that fence… Oh man that fence! If we play our cards right, this might turn out to be a place where we can stay. So how do you want to play this?"

Zach looked around and noticed the broken swing and looked somewhat worried. "I think we need to make sure that this place is as safe as they're telling us. Look at that swing over there. It's not that big of a problem, but maybe there are bigger problems here, and we're just not seeing them." Zach said.

"Yeah, you're right." Mark said. "And checking out that fence is a decent start at looking at their defenses."

"Yeah, you're right about that. Still, I hope this place is safe." Zach said. He looked back over to the swing and said, "I bet Clem would love to swing for a little while. I'm going to go and fix that swing for her and Duck. Keep your eyes peeled for anything that's broken or seems out of the ordinary."

"You got it." Mark replied. Zach walked over toward the swing to see the full extent of the damage to it and to see if he could fix it as Mark stood by the gate.

…**To be continued.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach looked down to the broken swing and saw that the main problem with it was that the seat of the swing was broken in half. One of the ropes held the broken half of the seat in a knot while the other had nothing and was closer to the ground. Zach turned to Andrew and said, "Too bad it's broken. I bet that Clem and Duck would have loved to play on something like this."

"Kids used to like that old swing even more than the tours sometimes." Andrew said as he looked up from the generator.

"I bet." Zach said. "Won't mind if I fix it?"

"Heck, that would be great." Andrew said. "We really appreciate a helping hand."

Zach nodded and turned to a makeshift stand used for cutting lumber. He proceeded to walk to it as it eerily reminded him of the setup that Shawn had. Zach felt his body tense up at the memory and tragedy of the young man. He shook his head to forget about Shawn and placed one of the boards on the stand. He then proceeded to cut the board as he heard footsteps from behind him.

"Hey Zach. Everything seems to check out okay on my end." Mark said as Zach finished cutting the board. "Have you found anything?"

"Not yet." Zach said as he picked up the board.

"Do you think that this place looks good enough to stay?" Mark asked as the two walked over to the swing.

"Looks okay so far." Zach said.

"So, who do you think is in the right back in the motor inn?" Mark asked.

"Well, Lilly's doing what she has to, to help us survive, but she's starting to feel too much pressure since the supplies are starting to dwindle." Zach explained. "Kenny is concerned for his family, so I understand that he is starting to feel the pressure of trying to provide for them. As a result, he's lashing out at Lilly and hoping that things will change." Zach and Mark were now at the swing with Zach squatting down to remove the broken seat.

"You didn't exactly answer my question." Mark said as Zach removed the broken seat.

Zach wrapped a tight knot around the new seat as he said, "You asked me who was in the right back at the motor inn. I explained how both Lilly and Kenny are wrong and right at the same time. My choice is neither, but we have to forgive each other for our short-comings."

"So if that's true, why do you hate Larry so much?" Mark asked as Zach finished the second knot.

Zach huffed as he pushed the swing back to test it. He didn't want the swing to collapse, but if he did the knot right, it should be okay. "The reason I hate Larry is because he nearly got Clem killed and he knew it."

"Hey, come on man. Maybe he just made a mistake back at the pharmacy." Mark said.

Zach looked to Mark with disgust and asked, "Why are you defending him?"

"I just don't want you to do something reckless and getting kicked out of the group. Look, I hate that old bastard too, but he is a member of the group. You can't just off someone because you hate that person. Otherwise, you could get kicked out of the group." Mark said.

Zach sighed in frustration and said, "Yeah, you're right. If I kill him, how will I be any better?"

"Exactly. Don't let him get to you man." Mark said.

"Yeah, thanks Mark." Zach said. "You ready to go check out the perimeter?"

"You bet." Mark said. The two men then walked over to Andrew as he looked up from tampering with the generator.

"Hiya." Andrew said. "You two ready to take a look at the perimeter?"

"We are." Mark said with a nod.

"Oh good." Andrew said. "The fence stops a biter in about three or four seconds, but it gets overloaded if we leave the husks out there." Andrew then looked down to the generator and said, "As you can tell, these generators aren't state of the art. They're getting up there in age which means they need more maintenance."

"You know, Mark and I can clear the fence ourselves if you want to stay here and finish up with the generators." Zach said.

Andrew smirked and said, "Yeah that would be great. I'll turn off the northwest section, and if you guys can strip 'em off and look for any weak points, that'd be a big help."

"Sounds easy enough." Mark said.

"Stay attentive. You never know." Andrew warned, but Zach and Mark already knew that. They had survived this long for a reason. Nonetheless, the two men nodded and headed off for the northwest section of the farm.

* * *

Zach and Mark continued to walk down along the fence in search of any walkers. Zach looked up to the eerie forest. It felt almost out of place. The farm seemed peaceful and happy, but the forest was far more sinister and dark.

"Kind of eerie, huh?" Mark asked.

"The forest? Yeah it is." Zach said. "There are a lot more threats in there now. Bandits, walkers, psychopaths… they're all in there."

"I really didn't need to know that." Mark said.

"Yeah you do." Zach said. "Fear keeps us alive. It keeps us on high alert."

"I guess you're right about that." Mark said as the two approached their first walker which was kept on the fence by an arrow which had kept it leaning against the post. Zach examined the walker as a crow flew off from the dead creature. "Zach, it's dead." Mark said.

"Alright, let's get him off." Zach said. He pulled the arrow out of the walker's neck and threw it to the ground. He then pushed the walker off of the fence; it fell to the ground with a sickening thud. "Come on. I bet there's more 'em."

The two then proceeded forward. "Once this fence is patched up, this place will be like a fortress." Mark said. "Can you imagine not having to worry about the walkers anymore?"

"Yeah well, it's useless without gas." Zach said. "We might need food, but the St. Johns need gas."

"Not many drivers these days, Zach. We can scrounge up a year's worth of gas easily." Mark said.

"But what happens when the area is sucked dry. I know that it might be a while till that happens, but when it does, that's when it becomes dangerous. We'll be going into unknown territory to get the gas." Zach said.

"I guess you have a point there, but it'll be years till that happens. I doubt that this plague will last that long." Mark said.

"You got a point there." Zach said.

"So, what's your take on the brothers?" Mark asked. "They seem like they have this place tied down really well."

Zach pondered for a couple of seconds before he said, "I don't know. I mean they seem like nice people, almost too nice. I feel like something's a bit off. I think that they may be hiding something."

"Sheesh, I never considered you to be the paranoid type." Mark said with a distasteful tone.

"Sorry, maybe I am overthinking this. Maybe we finally caught a break." Zach said.

"I really hope so. We deserve one after all the shit we've been through." Mark said.

The two approached another walker which was leaned over the fence with an arrow in its skull. It was dead center. "You think the St. Johns are using walkers as target practice?" Mark asked as Zach pushed the walker off the fence.

"Can't be." Zach replied. "We didn't see them with a bow or a crossbow when they showed up at the motor inn."

"Maybe, they're still trying to get their accuracy down." Mark joked.

"Yeah, as you can tell, they have such horrible aim." Zach said as he got back up. The two men chuckled as they left the walker behind.

"I can't stop thinking about dinner." Mark said. He then smiled to Zach and said, "Thanks for the rations earlier. It's not easy eating in front of the kids, but it's the only thing keeping me on my feet right now."

"I'm hungry too, Mark." Zach said.

"You think they'll be good for it? A whole meal for our group?" Mark asked.

"If they have as much food as they say, then yeah." Zach replied. The two looked ahead and noticed that part of the fence was missing. Upon a closer inspection, they noticed that a walker was tangled up in the fence and had knocked it over.

"Come on. I think I see where they're getting in." Mark said as he and Zach approached the walker. "This one must have knocked it over trying to get through." They both examined the walker as Mark continued, "He's tangled up in there pretty good. Somehow we're going to have to get this fence back in place and get Mr. Crispy off of there."

"We'll get better leverage from the other side." Zach said.

"Good idea." Mark said. He hopped over the fence and squatted down underneath one of the fallen posts. Zach stepped over the fence and carefully avoided the wiring. He squatted down underneath the other fallen post, and together, the two men pushed up on the post.

Just as the post was put in place, sparks erupted from the walker's corpse and there was a light buzzing sound. "F***! What just happened?" Mark exclaimed as he jumped back in surprise.

"The fences are on!" Zach exclaimed. He was also surprised by the fence suddenly turning on.

"Why would he turn the fence on? He knows we're out here." Mark said. Suddenly, an arrow flew into Mark's shoulder which made him yell out in pain. "AHHH!"

"I got you, asshole." An angry exclamation came from the woods as more arrows flew in random patterns.

Zach looked around for an escape route and quickly found it in the form of the gate. "Quick, get to the gate!" Zach exclaimed. He and Mark ran for the gate, but were quickly stopped by a couple of arrows. Zach turned around to see a nearby tractor and exclaimed, "Get down!"

"Shit!" Mark exclaimed as the two men ran for cover. A couple of arrow hit the ground as they retreated behind the tractor.

"I've already got one of you!" One of the attackers exclaimed from within the forest.

Zach looked up to see if he could make out anyone recognizable; however, their attackers were firing from within the dark forest and he could barely make out the silhouettes of the people who were attacking him and Mark. Zach quickly ducked as one of the silhouettes held still and appeared to be aiming at him. As Zach ducked, an arrow hit the top of the tractor.

"We had an agreement, and now, you're f*******!" Another attacker exclaimed.

"Who the f*** is that?" Mark asked.

"I have no idea." Zach said as more and more arrows flew by the two and land in the ground.

"F***! Now what?" Mark asked.

"With the fence on, that gate over there is our only way out." Zach explained.

"It ain't right!" One of the attackers exclaimed. "We had a deal!"

Zach looked around and noticed that the tractor was held in place by the plow in the back and the cinderblock in front of it. Zach went to the front of the tractor and pulled the cinderblock away as another of his attackers ranted, "What about our arrangement?" Zach then went to the rear of the tractor and pulled the lever up which loosened the plow from the ground. He retreated back behind the tractor just in time. An arrow flew by and hit the lever, but the arrow bounced off without phasing the device.

The tractor started to move forward much to Zach's and Mark's relief. They needed get out of the ambush and fast. "They're on the move!" One of the attackers exclaimed. The tractor continued to move as Zach and Mark kept a decent pace next to it. Suddenly the tractor stopped when it hit a walker's body.

"What happened?" Mark asked.

"Walker's in the way." Zach replied. "I'm going to have to move it." He got to the front of the tractor and pulled the stray walker away from the front of the tractor. He tossed the walker aside and tractor continued forward until it hit another walker.

"Another one? How many of these things are there?" Mark asked with a pained huff. The arrow was causing significant pain to the former pilot.

Zach got to the front of the tractor and tried to pull it away from the tractor's wheel; however, the creature came to life and tried to bite down on Zach's hand. Zach struggled with the creature with his one hand while he reached for his knife with the other. He was finally able to pull it out and stabbed the walker. He huffed as he discarded the walker's body away from the tractor.

"Are you alright?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, but barely." Zach said as the two continued to follow the tractor until it hit a silo.

"They're getting away!" One of the attackers exclaimed.

"Let's get out of here." Zach said. He ran over to the front gate and opened it for him and Mark to make their getaway.

"You lucky sons of bitches! Go ahead and run! We ain't going nowhere!" One of the attackers exclaimed in the distance as Zach and Mark ran for their lives.

* * *

Zach and Mark ran for the house on the hill. Mark was significantly lagging behind due to his injury, but he still managed to keep up with Zach. They both entered the front yard of the dairy and were greeted by Andrew. "Zach, Mark what's wrong?" Andrew asked with concern lacing his voice.

Mark huffed heavily from the intense running with the painful injury as Zach looked up to Andrew. "The electric fence came on." Zach explained. "Some people started attacking from the woods, and we got caught between them and the fence."

"Holy shit!" Danny exclaimed as he ran up to Mark. "Are you okay?"

"I… I heard Mark yelling and thought y'all were giving me the all clear." Andrew explained. "Man, I'm real sorry."

"Oh my word!" Brenda exclaimed. Zach looked up to where the older woman was and noticed that she was on the porch. She must have heard the commotion and wanted to check to see what was going on. "What happened to you, sweetheart?"

"It was those bastards from the woods, mama." Andrew said.

"Yeah, I'll be alright once it's out, but damn it hurts." Mark said.

"Hi y'all." Zach heard from behind. He turned to see his remaining group walking up the driveway. They all seemed speechless by their surroundings until they noticed Mark.

"Oh my gosh, Mark, what happened?" Katjaa exclaimed in horror.

"He got shot with an arrow." Zach said.

"Shit, are you going to be ok?" Lilly exclaimed.

"Yeah, I should just pull it out, but damn it hurts." Mark said as he winced in pain and continued.

"Oh no sweetheart." Brenda said as she approached Mark. "Come on, Brenda has got you. Let's head inside and we'll have you all sorted out." Natalie accompanied Brenda in helping Mark as they went up to the house. "Well now, you must be the vet…" Brenda said to Natalie.

"Not quite…" Natalie said.

"What kind of shit is this?" Larry asked.

"We ran into some people on the way up here-bandits I guess. I think they're the ones that shot Mark." Zach explained.

"They gave us a lot of problems at first. Killed a bunch of our farm hands but we got them to stop by making a deal with them." Andrew explained.

Kenny built up a scowl and asked, "You knew about these people?"

"Food for protection, not like we had much of a choice, but they did stop hassling us." Danny explained.

"Dammit." Larry grumbled. "Doug and Carley said that this place was locked down tight."

"Maybe this place isn't safe after all." Zach said.

"Hey look, we're sorry. We've never had them f*** with us like this, not since we've been giving them food." Andrew said.

"Ain't no way we're lettin those sons of bitches get away with this." Danny said.

"Do you know where these assholes are?" Kenny asked.

"They're hard to pin down but I know where at least one of their camps are." Danny said. He looked to Zach and said, "When you're ready to scope out that bandit camp, come find me." Danny and Andrew then walked away from the group to have a private conversation which left the motor inn group to talk about the situation as well.

"Bandits, are you serious?" Lilly said with a distasteful tone. "We can't stay here; this place isn't safe."

"Not safe?" Kenny inquired. "This place is hell of a lot safer than that motor inn. I think us and our guns can handle a bunch of punks with bows and arrows."

"I'm going to go out there and help Danny find these bandits; you guys should stay here and try to make friends with Andy and Brenda, while we're gone." Zach said to Larry, Lilly, Katjaa, and Kenny.

"Well that's easy. I've got charm coming out of my ass." Larry said.

Lilly looked disgusted at her dad and said, "Yeah, that's real charming dad."

Zach looked around at the remaining group members and noticed that there were some missing people. "Where's Carley, Ben, and Doug?" Zach asked.

"Since those three ate more than half of the rolls when they were on their way to get us, I had them stay behind to watch the motor inn." Lilly said. "I still don't think that we should try to make a home here."

Andrew separated from Danny for a moment and said, "Hey kids look what Zach got working for ya?" He extended his hand out in a gesture toward the swing that Zach fixed before he and Mark went to check the perimeter.

Clementine lit up and said, "A swing! I love swings, just like the one at my tree house! Come on Duck!" They both made a mad dash for the swing; Clementine stopped next to Zach and said, "Thanks Zach, you're the best!"

"Yeah!" Duck exclaimed as he reached the swing first. Kenny started to head over and went to push Duck on the swing as Katjaa and Clementine watched on. Meanwhile, Lilly and Larry went in the opposite direction.

Zach approached Clementine who watched Kenny push Duck on the swing. She definitely wanted to be pushed on the swing as well, but she was patient. She would wait for her turn. Zach lowered himself to the girl's eye level and asked, "Hey, Clem. You like to swing."

"Yeah, it's fun. Thanks for fixing it." Clementine said with a smile.

"You're welcome. I figured you'd like it." Zach said.

"Could you push me on it?" Clementine asked.

"Of course." Zach said. He got up and looked over to Kenny and asked, "Mind if Clem takes a turn?"

"Yeah, I don't mind." Kenny said. He turned to his son and said, "Come on Duck. Let Clementine have a turn."

"Okay." Duck said who was obviously saddened that his fun had come to an end for a short period of time.

Zach got behind the swing and helped the small girl onto the seat of the swing. He then proceeded to push her as she became absorbed by the old feeling of being pushed on the swing. "How are you feeling, Clem?" Zach asked the girl.

"I'm okay." Clementine said with a smile. She liked the sensation of being pushed on the swing. It was an old feeling that brought back many happy memories. "Are you okay?" The girl asked with concern evident in her voice.

"I'm fine, hon." Zach replied.

Zach continued to push the girl on the swing as she thought of another topic. It was evident that Zach didn't want to talk about Mark. Clementine smiled as she looked to her surroundings and said, "The farm is pretty."

"Yeah, it certainly is." Zach said.

"Do you think things will ever get back to the way they were?" Clementine asked.

Zach pondered on the question for a couple of seconds and said, "Things will eventually return to normal, but it might take a while for that to happen."

"Oh…" Clementine said with her smile fading.

"Don't worry, honey. This plague will pass." Zach said.

"That's good." Clementine said as she smiled again.

"Alright, Clem. That's enough for now." Zach said as he stopped the swing.

"Okay, thanks for pushing me." Clementine said as she dropped off the seat of the swing.

"Of course." Zach said. He turned to Duck and Kenny and said, "It's all yours."

"Yeah!" Duck exclaimed as he went to the swing.

"Okay, Duck don't pop a gasket." Kenny chuckled as he watched his enthusiastic son.

"Come on Clementine. Let's go see the barn." Katjaa said as she extended her hand out to the young girl.

"Okay." Clementine said as she placed her small hand into Katjaa's bigger one.

"Thanks Katjaa." Zach said to the woman.

"You're welcome." Katjaa replied as she led Clementine toward the barn.

Zach looked up to where Danny and Andrew were talking to one another and decided that it was time to go and inspect this supposed camp that Danny knows about. He opens the gate to the house and walks up to the two brothers. "Fellas." Zach said with an angry tone in his voice.

"Hey Zach. How ya feelin?" Andrew said. "Look, I'm real sorry you almost got killed out there. We should have told you how dangerous it was."

"No shit." Zach said.

"You saw what they did to your buddy. Nobody's safe here until we start to fight back." Danny said.

"How are we going to do that?" Zach asked. "You said that you know the location of one of their hideouts, but what if there are more?"

"We'll go out there and do some recon, then we'll all mount up for some revenge." Danny said.

"Hell yeah." Andrew said.

"You know who these people are?" Zach asked. "Any of them have military experience? If so, we need to take those guys out first."

"Nah, I don't think any of 'em have military training. I think they worked at that big box up the ways." Andrew said.

"Save Lots." Danny corrected his brother.

"Yeah, well anyway, they're nutty as all hell and get mad when they're hungry." Andrew explained.

Suddenly, the door opened from behind the two men. It was Natalie. She looked to the three men and said, "Don't worry. Mark's okay. The arrow did a little bit of muscle damage, but he should make a full recovery."

"That's good. Thanks Natalie." Zach said.

"It's my job." Natalie said with a smirk.

"So are you ready to go out there and find their camp?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, let's do it." Zach said. Danny nodded in response and handed Zach a hunting rifle.

"You're going out there again?" Natalie asked with her head lowered and a frown on her face. "You and Mark were lucky. You might not be the next time around."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. I got a lot of combat experience under my belt." Zach said as he placed two fingers under the woman's chin and gently raised her head up. She looked to him with her wide hazel eyes which pleaded with him to stay. "Stay safe and look after Clem for me." Zach said as he allowed his arm to return to his side. Natalie nodded in response but then she felt Zach kiss her on the cheek. It wasn't supposed to be a romantic gesture, but the two flushed from the intimate contact.

Zach and Danny walked down to the front gate as Natalie and Andrew watched on. Zach turned back to Natalie and noticed that she was caressing her cheek and was still blushing. Zach smiled to the woman until he noticed Clementine approaching him. He turned to the child as she asked, "Are you going now?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in a bit." Zach said.

"Hug?" Clementine asked as she held her hands out to the young man.

Zach smiled to the child and squatted down to hug her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kept a firm grip as Zach returned the hug while rocking her back and forth. The two separated and Zach said, "Now that was a big hug." The girl smiled to him as he picked up his hunting rifle. "Don't worry. I'll be back." Zach said to the girl.

Clementine watched him with concern in her eyes as Zach left for the woods alongside Danny. He looked back one last time and saw Natalie approach the girl from behind. She placed her hand on the child's shoulders and smiled down at Clementine. Zach smiled to the two before he turned around to follow Danny.

* * *

The two men continued their trek through the forest as Danny led the way. He and Zach eventually came across a trail that has seen some use. The trail was also covered in trash. Danny gestured Zach to follow him and the two walked down the road. Zach took notice of a small camp and looked to Danny. "You see it?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, I see it." Danny said as he approached the camp.

It was empty of any bandits but it was a mess. Boxes covered the tables with no clear organization. There were also several cans laying all over the camp. There was a large tent near the edge of the camp. Danny and Zach kept their rifles up and Danny asked, "Do you see anyone?"

"Stay on your guard." Zach responded which meant that he couldn't see anyone but that didn't mean there was no one around.

The two men approached the camp with Danny taking the lead and heading toward the tent, "Watch my back, Zach; I'm going to check out the tent." Danny edged closer to it and he finally entered it. Zach looked around and gripped his hunting rifle tightly until he heard Danny. "Clear," Danny said. Zach looked over to the man as he continued, "This camp's too small; it can't be their main base. Go ahead and look for anything that could be deemed useful here." Danny then looked into the tent even further while Zach looked around the camp in search of any clues on the whereabouts of the bandits that attacked him and Mark.

Zach decided to check the boxes on the table for any clues, but they were all picked clean. The boxes were labeled with the name, Save Lots, which checked in with Andrew's story. "What's in the boxes?" Danny asked.

"Nothing. They're picked clean." Zach said. "They're all from Saves Lot."

"Those first couple days, people gathered at the big Save Lots down the way. They grabbed everything they could." Danny explained.

Zach continued to search through the boxes and eventually found boxes from the dairy. "I found some boxes from your dairy."

"Probably the food we've been giving them… F****** crossed the line." Danny said.

Zach continued his search which proved to be fruitless. He found nothing on the table that could help him find the bandits. He looked over to the other table and began to search it for anything. He was surprised when he found a camcorder on the table. He picked up the device and tried to turn it on, but with no success. "What'd you find?" Danny asked.

"A camcorder." Zach replied.

"Oh, let me see that." Danny said with shock in his voice.

"The batteries are dead." Zach said as he looked up from the device.

"Oh, good. Let's see what else they got around here." Danny said as he left the tent to look through the table that Zach had just went through.

Zach looked to the tent and figured that it was the only place that he hadn't checked yet. He looked into the tent and saw two sleeping bags with one of them fit for a small child. "Oh my gosh, is there a kid wrapped up in all of this?" Zach asked.

"More like was." Danny said.

Zach huffed as he picked up a photo that was inside the tent. He looked at it to see a woman with a young child. The child appeared to be around Clementine's age when the photo was taken. He then noticed a rabbit plush toy next to the photo. This couldn't be a bandit camp. Why would they go through so much trouble to commemorate a child and her mother? Zach looked to the larger sleeping bag and noticed that something was bulging at the top. Zach pulled back the sleeping bag and was stunned that he found Clementine's missing hat. "What the?" Zach asked.

"Don't you f******* move?" Zach heard from behind him. It sounded like a woman, but it was noticeable that her voice was shaky and didn't sound right.

"Oh shit!" Danny exclaimed as Zach turned around and left the tent. He aimed his gun at the woman and was surprised to see that she was the same woman in the photo. She wasn't a bandit! She was a survivor! She must have come into the woods with her daughter and tried to make it for the both of them, but something must have went wrong. The woman definitely didn't look right. She wore a menacing smile and her clothes and face were covered in muck and blood.

"Put your guns down. You aren't taking me back." The crazy woman said. "You hear me. I said, Jolene ain't going back!"

"Hey, we had a deal." Danny said. "No shooting as long as we gave you food. What the f*** happened?"

"You had a deal with THEM." Jolene said. "Well, I ain't THEM." The woman's voice sounded venomous when she mentioned 'THEM.' She looked to Danny with an angry scowl and started to rant. "Oh, I know you. I know who you are and I know what you do."

"You don't know me." Danny said.

"Steal my shit! Steal everything from me!" Jolene snapped.

"Why are you alone up here? What happened?" Zach asked.

"Now that's one of hell of a question, mister." Jolene answered. "They told me that I'd be safe with them… Men who lived here. But it weren't safe… Not for me and not for my girl." The woman's voice started to crack as a couple of stray tears fell down her cheeks. Zach himself was also saddened since he had a little girl that he was trying to protect, just like Jolene did. "They didn't treat her nice. Not at all. They took her away into the woods. Wouldn't tell me where. I begged them. Every way I could think. They just laughed… so I killed 'em." The woman started to laugh which was quite menacing. "And I'm staying here until she comes back. One way or another… she'll come back."

Jolene looked to the two men with an angry glare and said, "Now maybe you didn't hear me last time… when I asked you sweet… put your damn guns down. You don't think I won't kill you?" She chuckled at her own statement before she continued. "I'm going to take this here crossbow and put a nice, sharp arrow right through your eyeball and into your damn brain. You're not men. You're monsters. All men are monsters. Take a can of beans. Take a little girl. It's all the f******* same to you."

Zach knew that the woman wasn't a bad person. He knew that she must have lost her daughter from a group of men, and afterwards, Jolene went insane. Still one question plagued his mind. Why did she have Clementine's hat? "Where did you get this hat?" Zach inquired.

"From a little girl." Jolene said.

"You stole it from her." Zach said with anger lacing his voice.

"So what if I did? You stole her from me." Jolene said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zach asked. He was perplexed by the woman's nonsense.

"You know what? I changed my mind." Jolene said. "I'm putting this arrow right through your balls. Yeah right through! String 'em up on that tree." She gestured to the tree behind her before she continued, "Then, I'm going to head down there and shoot every damn person I see."

Zach tensed up and his grip on the rifle tightened. He couldn't let the woman do that. She would kill Natalie and Clementine. He couldn't let that happen, but he wasn't willing to kill Jolene. She was a victim in all of this mayhem. He had to talk her out of it. "Put down the crossbow. Killing a bunch of people won't solve your problems. It won't bring your girl back." Zach said.

"You keep her out of this!" Jolene exclaimed. "I'm going to kill you, f******." She turned to Danny and said, "Go on tell him, boy. Tell him what you got in mind for-" Suddenly a shot sounded and hit Jolene. She flinched back upon receiving a shot to her head before she fell to the ground.

Zach looked on in horror and turned to Danny who had his rifle aimed at where Jolene stood. He lowered the rifle as Zach looked on in shock of his actions. Danny just murdered Jolene.

**...To be continued.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, guys. This chapter is going to be a long one. It's about 5900 words long. Also, I want to thank everyone who have been reading this story. We have reached 1000 views. You guys rock! A special shout out goes to Tactus501st, Magixben1124, Bubbles2k100, Smeake, and FanFic Productions for giving me constant support of this Fic. You guys are the best.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach looked to Danny with shock and horror written in his features. What the hell happened? What made Danny go off like that? "F******* dammit!" Danny exclaimed.

"You straight up murdered that woman!" Zach exclaimed.

"Hardly. She had a crossbow pointed at my forehead." Danny replied. Zach huffed as he looked back to Jolene. What's done is done. There was nothing Zach could do to revive the woman. "It's a clean shot though. Right through the forehead." Danny said as he picked up Jolene's crossbow. "That's good shooting right there. Still what a waste."

"So are we going back?" Zach asked.

"If they aren't here, then I have no idea where they're at." Danny said. "And it's not a good idea to go stomping out through the woods this late in the day. So yeah, we're heading back. Once they see this, they'll get the message." Danny headed out of the camp with Zach following close behind. Zach knew that something wasn't right. What was that woman going to say before Danny shot and why did he shoot her? Nothing was making sense!

* * *

Zach and Danny made their way to the front gate as the skies above them darkened. Danny opened the gate and said, "Well, that was one hell of a ride."

"Yeah, I guess." Zach said.

"Oh come on. You aren't getting soft on them, are you? Especially after what they did to your friend?" Danny asked as he took back the hunting rifle.

"You're back. What happened?" Brenda asked from the front steps of the porch.

"Handled it, mama." Danny replied before he walked over to the tree stump near the swing.

Zach looked up to the older woman and approached her as she sat back down. She appeared to be saddened. "This isn't what Terry would have wanted." Brenda said.

"Terry?" Zach asked.

"My husband. Miss him every day." Brenda explained as she looked up to Zach.

"Just ruin it for everyone, why don't you?" Lilly exclaimed. Zach and Brenda looked over to see her and Kenny arguing with one another.

"Calm down princess. I'll do it myself." Kenny said as he walked away from her.

Zach looked to the two with a perplexed stare before he turned to Brenda. "What's wrong with them?" Zach asked.

"Don't know. Squabblin, looks like. A lot of tension with y'all." Brenda said.

"You can say that again. They don't see eye-to-eye, and because of our food situation, they've been lashing out against each other more often." Zach said.

"Oh… it's just tough times. Everyone gets a little stir crazy when they're hungry." Brenda said. Zach was distant as he thought of what happened back at the small camp with Jolene. "And Zach…" Brenda said which made the marine look to Brenda. "Don't worry about them bandits. I'm sorry that you've seen more violence in your time here than I wanted you to see, but don't worry. Everything will be fine."

Zach nodded and said, "I think I'm going to go talk to my people."

"Well don't wander too far. Dinner will be ready in a little while." Brenda said. "And make sure to thank your friend Katjaa for me. She's with the kids in the barn. That woman is a life saver."

"You got it." Zach said and he walked down the small hill that the house rested on. He opened the that surrounded the hill and looked over to see Clementine at the door of the barn. She smiled to Zach and waved at him before she shut the barn door. Zach smiled back to her before he headed over toward the barn. However, he looked over to Lilly and Larry with curiosity getting the better of him. He walked over to the patio that the two were at and said, "Hey."

"Zach, did you find the people who shot Mark?" Lilly asked as Larry sent a glare at him.

"No." Zach replied. "Danny and I came across a camp. Some woman named Jolene surprised us. I think she and her daughter were survivors."

"Daughter?" Lilly asked.

"I didn't see her in the camp, but I saw a picture of her along with a child-sized sleeping bag and a plush toy. The way Jolene talked, it sounded like the bandits that attacked me and Mark also had a hand in ruining her life by taking her girl." Zach explained as Lilly looked on with a frightful look.

"What happened to her?" Lilly asked.

Zach looked down with a horrified expression which scared Lilly. Even Larry was starting to show some nervousness. "Come on, Zach! Don't make us guess!" Larry snapped.

Zach looked up and said, "She was trying to tell me something, like as if the St. Johns were connected to the bandits. I couldn't tell. Danny… snapped and shot her."

"Holy shit." Lilly muttered. "I don't like this, Zach. I think we should just get our meal to go and drag Mark back to the motor inn, if we have to. We should skip the whole dinner." Lilly said with a tang of fear in her voice.

"We don't want to be rude." Larry said. "They're taking the trouble to prepare a nice meal for us. The last thing we want to be is ungrateful guests that just run off."

Zach turned to Lilly and asked, "What were you and Kenny arguing about?"

"I thought he was losing it, Zach. He said something about how the St. Johns are hiding something, but after what you told me… I'm starting to think that he was right." Lilly said.

"I'm going to go check on everyone else." Zach said.

"Sounds good. I think they're all in the barn." Lilly said. Zach nodded to her and left for the barn. As he walked over, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as Danny watched him from afar. Something was definitely not right.

Zach opened the barn and was relieved upon finding a somewhat peaceful scene. Katjaa was sitting on a stool checking over a cow with Natalie and Clementine next to her. Duck sat cross-legged in front of the cow and Andrew sat on another stool keeping an eye on things. Clementine looked to the cow closely. She seemed to show a desire for wanting to pet the animal. "It's okay, Clementine. You can pet her." Natalie said.

Clementine looked up to Zach with a smile and waited for his approval. "It's okay. Go ahead." Zach said with a kind and encouraging voice.

Clementine turned her head back to the cow, and she slowly extended her hand out towards the cow. Any time the cow moved, she would retract her hand, but she would continue to get closer as soon as the cow stopped. Finally, she was able to reach the cow's fur and started to stroke it with her small hand. "Whoa….Katjaa says Maybelle could have a baby tonight." Clementine said.

"We'll see Clementine." Katjaa responded.

Zach looked over to a strange white object on the floor and approached it. "What's this thing?" Zach asked.

"Daddy says it's a salt lick." Duck responded.

"Yeah but don't lick it. It's gross." Clementine said.

Zach smirked and asked, "Did you lick?"

"I don't know." Clementine responded as she tried to act as innocent as possible. Zach chuckled at the girl's response. It was easy for her cuteness lighten his day, and after what he experienced, it was a relief for him.

Zach turned his attention to Duck and asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"No, not really." Duck replied. He wrinkled his nose to the smell of cow manure and said, "Hmm…it smells funny in here."

"Like manure." Clementine chimed in.

"What's manure?" Duck asked confused by the new word.

"Do-Dee." Clementine responded. They both giggled finding that the alternative word was quite funny.

"Kids." Katjaa said in a warning tone. Duck and Clementine immediately stopped with their giggling and showed no signs of being disobedient. Neither wanted to get in trouble with Katjaa.

Zach looked to Clementine and said, "Here Clem." He pulled out the girl's hat and extended his hand out for her to accept it.

"My hat! You found it!" Clementine exclaimed with glee. Natalie and Katjaa both shared a similar smile aimed at Zach. Clementine grabbed the hat and placed it on her head. "I knew you'd find! You said you would!"

Zach looked to the girl with a serious look and squatted down to be at her eye level. "Hey, did you give your hat to any strangers?" Zach asked.

"No." Clementine said as her smile disappeared. She knew that Zach was being serious which was quite remarkable for a five year old.

"Did you see anyone poking around the motor inn? Someone you didn't know?" Zach asked.

"No, why?" Clementine asked.

"It's probably nothing, but talk to me if you ever see anything like that." Zach said.

"Okay, I will." Clementine said as her smile came back. "Hey Zach, do you think you'll ever have kids?"

Zach smiled at the girl's curious question and said, "I'd really like to someday, maybe a little girl like you."

"That's nice. You'd be a really good daddy." Clementine said.

"Thanks Clem." Zach said as he got up from his squatted position.

"You're welcome. Thank you for finding my hat." Clementine said.

"You're welcome, Clem." Zach said.

"Do you want to pet the cow with me?" Clementine asked. Her large amber orbs looked to Zach with a pleading stare. There's no way he could say no.

"Sure." Zach said as he squatted down and joined Clementine in petting the cow. Natalie joined alongside Clementine.

The three continued to pet the cow much to Clementine's delight. She loved the two adults who were looking after her. In many ways, they were both like her parents. They were both kind to one another and they both thought the world of her. "She's pretty." Clementine said as she continued to stroke the cow's fur.

"She sure is, Clem." Natalie said. She turned to Zach and said, "I'm glad you came back okay. When you went out there to find those bandits, it really scared me."

Zach looked down with a horrified look which scared Natalie. She had never seen Zach scared. He was always brave. "What's wrong?" Natalie asked with her voice becoming shaky.

Zach looked up and said, "I'm going to need to talk to you later."

"Okay." Natalie said with her voice still shaky.

"Hey Zach, I need your help for a minute." Kenny said as he walked up to the young man.

"Um… sure." Zach said. He looked to Clementine and said, "Sorry, baby girl. Can you play with Natalie for a little bit?" Clementine nodded although she was clearly saddened. She wanted to spend more time with Zach. "That's my girl. Make sure you wash your hands after you're done petting the cow."

"I will." Clementine said.

"You too, Natalie." Zach said with a smirk on his face.

"Yes, soldier boy." Natalie replied with a sarcastic tone which made Clementine giggle.

Zach smiled to the two and walked away from the group with Kenny. "I need to show you something." Kenny said as he led Zach to the back of the barn. They both approached a door which had a pad lock and assembly over it. "They're hiding something. I got a quick glance when we got in before that fella up there closed it shut. There was something metal and sharp in there." Kenny said as he gestured to Andrew. "I tried to talk to Lilly, but you know how she is."

"Actually, I think she changed her mind." Zach said.

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked.

"It's not just this door that's the problem. Something ain't right about the St. Johns." Zach said. "I told Lilly about this camp that Danny and I found. There was this woman in the camp, a mother, a survivor. I couldn't find the kid. My guess is that the bandits took her away from the mother. She was about to say something, but then Danny just shot her."

"What!" Kenny said. "Oh f***." He looked down horrified. He couldn't believe the words that Zach said. "Are… Are you sure man?" Kenny asked.

"Of course I am. This woman had a child's sleeping bag, a toy, and a photo of her and the child. There's no way she could have been the one attacking us. She was a survivor just like us." Zach said.

"F***." Kenny said. He turned to the door and scowled. "We have to get in there now. Who knows what they're hiding from us. You back me up when those farmers come running."

"Hold on. I know a better way of doing this." Zach said.

"Enlighten me." Kenny said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Instead of smashing the lock. We can remove the screws from the assembly." Zach said as he pointed to the part of the lock.

"Sounds good, but first, we need to get that guy out of here." Kenny said as he looked over to Andrew who preoccupied in keeping an eye on the cow.

Zach nodded and said, "Be back in a bit." Kenny nodded and Zach went to exit the barn. Katjaa, Duck, Natalie, and Clementine were too preoccupied to notice him leave which was beneficial for Zach.

As he left the barn, Zach looked around and noticed that Larry was busy talking to Brenda. He appeared to be laughing. Was he laughing? That was rare. He'd grumble a lot, but Zach never seen him laugh. Zach shook his head to refocus and went towards the makeshift stand that he used earlier to make the seat for the swing. He looked into the tool box and quickly found what he was looking for. It was a multi-tool. He grabbed it from the toolbox and placed it in his pocket.

Next, he turned around and headed for the generator. Zach felt like he was being watched and looked over to Lilly. She was keeping a sharp eye on him. Zach didn't know if she knew what he was up to and whether she would stop him or not. He hoped that she would play along. Zach reached the generator and squatted down. He pulled out the multi-tool and loosened the screw on the door of the inner engine. He opened up the door but stopped when he heard Danny. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Zach swore mentally as he had forgotten about Danny. He got up and said, "Andy wanted me to check on the generator."

"I doubt that." Danny said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Actually…" Zach heard Lilly say as she approached the two men. "I was in the barn earlier and noticed that the lights were flickering. I told Andy about it, and he said that he'd check it out."

"Yeah, and right now, he's too busy with keeping an eye on the cow to come fix it himself, so he asked me to check on it." Zach explained.

"Hmm… well… alright. I guess that sounds about right." Danny said. "Just be careful with the thing. It's a sensitive piece of equipment." Danny turned around and headed back to the stump that he was sitting at prior while Zach and Lilly sighed in relief.

"Thanks." Zach said.

"No problem." Lilly said. "I don't exactly feel very comfortable with this place. And I don't want my dad getting hurt. You're trying to protect Clem, just like I'm trying to protect my dad." She looked over to Danny and Brenda before she turned back to Zach. "Hurry up and figure out what the St. Johns are up to."

"You got it." Zach said as he knelt down in front of the generator and Lilly went back to her spot at the patio. Zach pressed the power button on the generator and quickly removed the generator belt inside with the multi-tool. He took the belt from the machine and closed the door to the inner workings of the generator. Zach got up and walked over to the fence where he tossed the belt a couple feet from where he stood.

A couple of seconds later, Zach heard the barn door open. He heard loud stomps that stopped right behind him where the generator was. "Freaking Danny, always getting nothing but shit." Zach heard Andrew say. "Oh damn thing! It blew a belt!" Andrew exclaimed. Zach would have found Andrew's complaining quite comical if it wasn't for the fact that he need to check out the back of the barn. Zach left for the barn as he overheard Andrew say, "This shit is going to take forever."

Zach approached the barn as he noticed that the sun was starting to disappear. Evening was coming and it would mean that supper was coming too. Zach felt an uncomfortable tingling as he entered the barn. He looked over to Kenny who had been waiting patiently for his return. Zach nodded and headed for the back of the barn. Kenny joined alongside him and the two approached the back of the barn only to hear the sound of the dinner bell.

"Mom, dad! It's dinner time! It's dinner time!" Duck exclaimed. Zach and Kenny looked back to the small group that was in the barn.

"Okay, honey. Go get dad." Katjaa said.

Duck made his way to Kenny, but he was not alone. Clementine ran toward Zach as well. "Dad, come on. Let's eat!" Duck exclaimed.

Clementine grabbed onto Zach's hand and tried to drag him away from the door. "Come with me, please." Clementine said with pleading eyes. The last thing Zach wanted to do was crush her and say that he couldn't, but he had no other choice.

Zach was about to speak, but Kenny spoke first. "Actually darling. Zach has to help Andy out with something." Kenny said.

Clementine looked down sadly as Zach squatted down to her height. "Don't worry, it won't take long. Save me a seat, okay?"

"Okay." Clementine chirped.

"That a girl." Zach said as he got back up. Zach looked to Natalie and gave her a nervous look.

The woman nodded to him before she looked down to Clementine. "Come on, baby girl. Let's go wash your hands." She took the child's hand and led Clementine out of the barn. Kenny nodded to Zach before he walked with his family alongside him.

Zach turned to the barn door and immediately used the screwdriver attachment on the multi-tool to remove the screws. Zach removed the four screws with an impressive speed and opened the doors to the back part of the barn. He wasn't ready for what was behind the door… Years of this apocalypse could never prepare him for what was inside the back room of the barn.

Zach's eyes widened in horror as he dropped the screws and multi-tool on the floor. Inside, was what appeared to be a butchering room, but there was blood everywhere. It was horrific. There were several jars on a shelf with some of the jars containing human intestines and one was holding a human brain. This was all the proof Zach needed. The St. Johns were cannibals.

"Boy didn't you hear the bell?" Andrew asked. Zach turned to the man as he said, "It's dinner time."

Zach shook his head and tried to forget about the room that was now behind him. "Hey listen, I just came in here and found the door open like this." Zach lied.

"Probably my idiot brother." Andrew remarked. He looked around the barn and asked, "Hey, was there anyone else with you just now? The doc? The kids?"

"No, they went inside the house." Zach said.

"Oh good." Andrew said. He looked back to the house and turned to Zach. "Hey listen, mama's going to be in a snit if we aren't in there in a couple minutes. We better go eat dinner."

"Yeah… that sounds like a good idea." Zach said. The two men proceeded to leave the barn with Zach being noticeably nervous. He now knew what was going on. Things have built up to this moment. Someone was going to have to make a move. Zach couldn't just wait it out and hope for the best.

* * *

Zach and Andrew entered the house with exclamations of the group in the kitchen. Despite the happy atmosphere, Zach knew that the scenario was going to get ugly. "Excuse the mess." Andrew said as he gestured to the blood on the floor. "We had a walker come in, but don't worry. That was a while back. They haven't been able to get inside since."

They entered the room as Brenda looked over the group. "Everybody sit down and I'll go get the meal." Brenda said. "Oh, this is a delight."

"I can eat horse." Kenny said.

"Where's Mark?" Zach asked. It was true; Mark was nowhere to be seen within the room.

"Now don't you worry about him. I already brought some food up for him. You just let him rest." Brenda explained.

"Mind if I wash my hands?" Zach asked.

"Bathroom's right outside the hall and be sure to get under your nails, you've been mucking around in the dirt all day." Zach nodded and left for the supposed bathroom. The tension inside of him was ready to explode. There were too many things that were out of place. Too many things that didn't make sense.

Zach passed the bathroom and he headed for the stairs instead. He quietly made his way up the stairs. They creaked and moaned as he applied the smallest amount of pressure with his feet, but they were unnoticed by the St. Johns, so he continued. He reached the top of the stairs with a master bedroom nearby and a closet. He went towards the closet and opened it and found it stuffed with used medical supplies and interestingly enough a power chord that led to the wall. Zach had an uneasy feeling and plugged the extension chord with what appeared to be the main chord. Light came from an unnoticed hole in the closet where the main chord led. He got up and headed into the master bedroom where he noticed a door which had light seeping from the bottom. He slowly opened the door and was shocked upon what he saw inside. He stared on in disbelief as he looked down to his friend Mark who was missing both of his legs. Instead of legs, Mark had bloody stumps.

"Zach..." Mark struggled to say.

"Mark, what happen?" Zach asked with horror written in his expression.

"Bro-Brothers." Mark replied with raspy breaths.

"Andy and Danny did this to you?" Zach asked.

"Don't...eat...dinner." Mark huffed.

"Zach did you fall in?" Brenda chuckled from downstairs. "Dinner's on the table and everyone's having at it!"

"Wow…where did you guys get barbeque meat from?" Kenny asked.

The one immediate concern that washed over Zach was Clementine and Natalie. He had to get to them and now. Zach rushed out of the room and down the stairs. He stumbled once but quickly regained his balance. He entered the room huffing but no one seemed to notice him. He looked over and saw Clementine as she stabbed the piece of meat with her fork and brought the food up to her mouth as Natalie started to cut up her own food. More than likely, she had to help the child cut her food. "Don't eat that!" Zach exclaimed. Everyone was startled, and Clementine and Natalie placed their forks down.

"Zach, what's wrong?" Kenny asked.

"Oh sit your ass down Zach; this lady has made you a meal!" Larry snapped as he gestured to Brenda.

"Zach, are you okay?" Lilly asked. "You don't look so good."

"He just got startled." Brenda stated bluntly.

"He could use some damn manners." Larry said as he aimed a scowl at Zach. "This lady has worked hard to make you a nice meal, and what do you do to her in return? You act like a f******* asshole. It makes me sick. It really does."

"Thank you, Larry." Brenda said.

"You're eating HUMAN meat!" Zach exclaimed. Everyone was frightened upon hearing his words.

"You're scaring the kids, Zack." Kenny said.

"Zach, what the hell is wrong with you?" Lilly asked.

"Don't indulge him, Lilly. There's always something with this guy." Larry said.

Suddenly, Katjaa grabbed Duck's plate of food away from him. "Mom, I was eating that!" Duck whined.

"We need to get the kids… everyone, out of here! We need to go now!" Zach exclaimed with a look of fear and concern in his eyes.

"Everything could have turned alright for ya folks." Danny said. His tone of voice was surprisingly dark, and it sent a cold shiver down everyone's spines.

"He would have died anyway; we need to think about living!" Andrew added in.

"Settle down honey." Brenda said to Andrew. She then turned to the group and said, "Growing up in rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste; it's how I was raised and how I raised my boys. Now you got monsters roaming around that do nothing but eat people and for what, to continue to rot till they eat some more." The motor inn group looked on in horror at the woman as she continued. "We figured we could put that meat to better use."

Everyone in the group pushed their plate away from them and Lilly groaned "Ugh…I think I'm going to be sick."

"You-You monster!" Natalie exclaimed which surprised everyone in the group. She was usually calm and nice, but now she was infuriated. "Mark was going to be fine. I told you that."

"Think about this Brenda. You're outnumbered." Zach said.

"Now that is not a nice thing to imply, Zach." Brenda said as she looked up to the marine. She turned back to the group and said, "Andy is right. We go after people who were going to die anyway, one way or another." Brenda looked to Natalie and said, "And that's exactly what would have happened to your friend. Somewhere along the line, he was going to get eaten."

"Like y'all," Danny said.

Zach looked up to Lilly and exclaimed, "Lilly, grab a knife!" She took the knife from the table and was about to attack Andrew who sat closest to her, but he and Danny quickly drew their weapons. However, Zach expected as much and he drew his knife as well. But before he could approach Danny, the man aimed at him.

"You know what they say about bringing a knife to a gun fight." Danny said with an evil smirk on his face. "I knew something was up when you were messin with our generator."

"Drop your weapons." Andrew ordered. Zach and Lilly sighed as they hesitantly dropped their knives. They were beaten. The St. Johns had the advantage.

"Now, no one's going anywhere!" Andrew exclaimed as he and Danny aimed their guns at everyone to make sure no one would bolt out of the room. "We've got lots of use for y'all right here."

Larry ramble an incoherent string of cursing and swearing. "Put your guns down! We're walking out of here!" Lilly exclaimed.

"I don't want you going near my family!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Mommy, I don't want to die! Mommy, what did I eat?" Duck whimpered.

"Everyone, everything will be ok." Zach said. He knew that if they were to escape this, then they would have to stay calm.

Clementine got as close to Natalie as possible, trying to find some form of comfort from her as she said, "Zach...Zach..." In turn, Natalie placed an arm around the five year old. However, Clementine got grabbed by her hair and she screamed an ear-piercing scream. Despite how small she was, she proved that she had a powerful set of lungs. Andrew aimed the rifle at the girl as he held her in place by her thick curly hair.

Zach's eyes went from keeping a calm demeanor to becoming full of blood-fueled rage. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Zach bellowed as he ran for the table. However, he quickly stopped when Danny aimed his rifle at him. Zach turned to Danny and aimed his death glare at him.

Suddenly, there were several loud thumps and everyone's attention diverted to the entrance of the dining room. A few minutes later, everyone saw Mark crawling across the floor. "Pleeeease…? Someone…?" Mark begged as he pulled himself across the floor. Everyone in the motor inn group gasped at the sight of the man.

Zach quickly turned his attention to Clementine who was hyperventilating and yelled, "Clemen-Ow". Suddenly, Zach felt a sharp pain that came to his head which was followed by everything turning black.

* * *

Zach groaned as he finally regained his consciousness. "Open up the damn door! You can't keep us in here!" Larry exclaimed. Zach looked over to the older man who was banging on the door. "You sick f****** bastards!" Larry continued on with his rant. Suddenly, there was the sound of someone violently throwing up. Zach turned his head towards Lilly; she was leaning over and trying to purge her stomach from the human meat that she had eaten. "Open up! I'll tear you f***** apart with my bare hands-"

"Stop that banging! We need to find another way out of here!" Kenny yelled at Larry. Zach looked around to orient himself on where he was. He noticed that he and most of his group were in a small grey room which had an AC unit up top. They were in a meat locker.

"Zach!" Clementine exclaimed. Zach looked over to see the small girl running towards him. She quickly ran into him and started to whimper. "It was a person; they tried to make us eat a person!"

Zach hugged her with a comforting hug and said, "Sh… it's okay, baby. You didn't eat any."

"The rest of us did! If you hadn't dragged your feet-" Larry bellowed as he turned away from the door.

"Come on dad," Lilly interrupted Larry. "Now's not the time."

Zach shifted his focus to Clementine and asked, "They didn't hurt you did they Clem?"

She looked up with puffy eyes and shook her head. Surprisingly, she smiled at Zach, proving once again that the marine knew how to take care of the small child. "I'm okay." Clementine said

"Zach, those psychos have my family and we're stuck in a damn meat locker! We need to get the f*** out of here!" Kenny exclaimed. He was noticeably worried for his family's safety.

"This thumb sucker is the one that brought us here!" Larry said as he walked over to Zach. He was determined to blame Zach for the group's capture.

"Will you just shut the f*** up!" Kenny exclaimed.

Larry went back over to continue to bang on the door as Zach placed Clementine back on the ground. "I'm scared." Clementine said.

"I know, baby." Zach said as he bent down to her height. "But I need you to be a big girl right now. I need you to be brave. We're going to get out of this, and everything will be okay."

Zach looked around for Natalie to help him alleviate some of the child's fears, but was surprised that she was also missing. "Where's Natalie?" Zach asked.

"That creep, Danny, has her." Lilly said.

"WHAT?" Zach exclaimed.

"He said something about needing her. Zach, I'm really worried about her." Lilly said. Zach was horrified by what he heard. He had to get out of the meat locker and now.

"What's wrong?" Larry asked with a taunting tone in his voice. He turned away from the door and looked to Zach with a satisfied smirk. "You afraid that your girlfriend is in trouble? Who knows maybe she's being raped as we speak."

"Yeah? Well, what about your new girlfriend? She wasn't exactly all that she was cracked up to be." Zach said.

Larry's smirk fell and it turned into a searing glare. "What the hell is your problem?" Larry bellowed. "You didn't give me my day's rations back at the motor lodge and you went out of your way to be an asshole to me tonight. You must really hate me." As he continued he was building an even more intimidating scowl. The room became very silent as everyone watched Zach and Larry stare each other down. "But guess what? You're stuck with me. I plan to be around long after you're gone and when you turn, I'll be the one to put you down!"

"Dad!" Lilly exclaimed.

"You're not worth hating." Zach said with an icy tone in his voice.

"On second thought, I think I'll let you walk around and rot for a little bit before I finish you off." Larry said with an angry scowl.

Zach looked to Larry and said, "F*** you! You think everything is my fault! You think that Clementine is some kind of monster which is why you tried to kill us at the pharmacy! News flash, asshole! We're all just trying to survive!"

"Dad, did you really try to kill Zach and-" Lilly asked.

"Lilly, you don't know what kind of man he is." Larry said. "If anything, he's about as worse as the St. Johns." Larry then turned back to Zach and quickly punched him to the ground.

"Zach!" Clementine exclaimed. She ran to his side as Kenny ran over to help him up.

"You alright, pal?" Kenny asked as he extended his hand out to Zach.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Zach said as he accepted Kenny's help up. Lilly looked to Zach with a mixture of emotions. For one, she was apologetic for what her dad did back at the pharmacy. For another, she was also angry. She didn't like that he yelled at her dad and told him how he really felt.

"Come on, pal. I think I found something." Kenny said as he led Zach over to the AC unit that he saw earlier. "What do you think? Isn't there a vent or something behind a unit like this?"

"Yeah, there has to be." Zach said. He took a closer look at the AC as Larry continued to yell.

"I'll break this damn door down!" Larry exclaimed, but it was evident that he was huffing.

"Dad, you can't just-" Lilly said but she immediately stopped when she saw Larry growl in pain. Zach and Kenny noticed the older man in pain as Larry clutched his chest. "Easy!" Lilly said.

"Oh gosh." Larry said and fell to the ground. Clementine gasped at the sight of the elderly man falling on the ground as Kenny and Zach looked on in horror.

"Dad!" Lilly exclaimed as she knelt down to check if he was breathing. "Dad, come on! Dad!" Lilly exclaimed.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: I've impressed myself. This cliffhanger is just beautiful. I'd say it's the best one I've done in a long time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: We have a friend from TYS visiting this chapter. You can all probably guess who it is. It's pretty obvious.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

"Oh my gosh he's not breathing. I think he has had a heart attack!" Lilly exclaimed as she tried to bring Larry back to life with CPR.

"Shit." Kenny said. "Is he dead?"

"He's not dead!" Lilly exclaimed. "Somebody help me!"

"F***." Kenny muttered as he and Zach ran over to Larry. "Come on old man. You can't be dying on us right now." Kenny said as he knelt down next to Larry.

"Let me take over. You keep checking his pulse." Zach said as he started to do chest compressions for Larry. Clementine watched on from the corner in fear. She was worried about Larry and the others if Larry would turn. Zach kept giving the older man chest compressions to revive him, but it didn't seem to be working until Larry's lip started to quiver.

"There you go. Come on old man. You got to get up." Kenny said. Lilly smiled and released a sigh of relief.

Even Zach was starting to be relieved and he stopped with his chest compressions, but there was a problem. Larry wasn't breathing. Zach's eyes widened in horror as Larry started to groan. "Dad?" Lilly asked.

"Get back." Zach exclaimed, but it was too late. Larry's eyes opened to reveal a milky white color and he quickly shot up to attack Zach. Larry had died and had turned. Zach was pushed back into the wall as Larry tried to chomp at him. He struggled to push Larry back as the older man proved to be stronger. Larry was getting closer and closer until Zach heard the door next to him open.

"Quick shoot him! He turned!" Kenny exclaimed. There was a sudden gunshot which must have hit the reanimated older man from the side. The walker fell limp as Zach groaned and huffed.

"You okay?" Carley asked as she knelt down next to him. Doug walked over and pulled Larry off of Zach.

"I think so. Thanks." Zach said as he got back up. He noticed Natalie and walked up to her. "Hey, are you okay? Did Danny hurt you?" Zach asked as he raised his hand in an attempt to comfort the woman.

She got closer to Zach and hugged him. Zach returned the hug as Natalie said, "Carley, Doug, and Ben saved me before Danny could… hurt me." She released Zach from the hug and said, "I'm okay."

"Glad to hear it." Zach said. He turned his attention to Clementine as she whimpered in the corner. Both adults walked up to her as they heard Lilly sob over her father. Kenny, Doug, and Ben stood over her with saddened looks as Carley did her best to comfort her. Zach walked up to Clementine and picked her up to into his arms. "Hey, hey." Zach said in a kind, comforting voice. He bobbed the girl up and down in his arms and said, "Sh… it's going to be okay. You'll be okay." Zach said. Natalie placed a comforting hand on the child's back as Zach continued to comfort her.

"Shit…" Kenny muttered. Zach turned around and noticed that his friend wore a scowl and he said, "They still have Katjaa and Duck in the house." Kenny immediately ran out of the room leaving no time for anyone to talk to him.

"We shouldn't let him go out there by himself." Ben said.

"Come on. We need to get out of here. It's not safe." Zach said.

"Come on, Lilly. We have to go." Carley said.

"I know… I just need a minute." Lilly said as she continued to cry.

Carley kept a supportive hand on Lilly's shoulder and turned to Zach. "Lilly and I will catch up."

"Okay." Zach said as he carried Clementine in his arms. He went for the door with Ben and Doug following him. Natalie stayed in the room momentarily before she followed the two men and the boy.

"Close your eyes." Zach said as the group reached the end of the hallway which went to the butchering room.

"They're closed." Clementine squeaked. Zach nodded and he and the others walked across the room. They entered the barn, but they didn't see Kenny anywhere. It was just Danny who was swearing for getting trapped in the bear trap.

Zach placed Clementine on the ground and said, "You can open your eyes now, sweetie." Clementine opened them and Zach led the group to the man.

"You f****** think you've beaten me. You're shitting yourself." Danny said.

Zach shook his head and quickly retrieved a pitchfork from one of the hay bales. He placed the pitchfork near Danny's neck and said, "Where's Kenny? Talk dammit."

"You see? You understand now, don't you? You can have me. It's how the world works now. Give part of yourself so others can live." Danny explained.

"I should f******* kill you right now." Lilly hissed at Danny as she and Carley approached the group.

"So, that's why you killed that woman in the woods! She was about to spill everything!" Zach exclaimed.

"You weren't ready. I had to stop her." Danny said as he grunted in pain. "You have to keep me alive, if you kill me, the meat gets tainted; you can't eat it!"

"You're already tainted!" Zach said as he placed the pitchfork closer to Danny.

"You ain't going to kill me, just like you didn't kill Jolene. You don't have what it takes… F****** cowar- Ah!" Danny exclaimed as the pitchfork that Zach had was thrown it into the hay bale behind Danny.

"No! This is not how the world works now! You won't make me kill you!" Zach exclaimed. He huffed as he looked around to his other group members. Clementine and Natalie were happy to see that Zach didn't stoop down to Danny's level. Carley, Ben, and Doug were indifferent about sparing his life, but Lilly was furious.

Lilly seethed and approached Zach with an angry glare. "Why didn't you kill him? He killed my dad." Lilly inquired.

"We don't need to stoop down to his level." Zach said as he looked down to Danny.

"F*** you." Danny said and he spat at Zach.

Zach looked to the man with a glare and said, "On second thought…" Zach drew back his fist and was ready to punch Danny, but he was stopped by Lilly who held his arm back.

"No. I'm doing it." Lilly said. She released her grip on Zach's arm and turned to Danny. She walked up to the cannibalistic man and punched the man out cold with two well placed punches. Zach looked to Lilly with worry in his eyes as the woman said, "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Carley approached Zach and asked, "What do you want us to do?"

Zach looked to the group with all eyes on him. He had mentioned multiple times that he didn't want to be the leader, but with Lilly not feeling well after her father's death, Zach would have to step up. He looked to Carley and said, "You're the best shot we got. Get into a sniper's position and be ready to act."

"You got it." Carley said as she headed out the barn.

"What about us?" Doug asked.

"I have a very important job for you to do." Zach said. "I want you and Ben to hold down the fort here."

"You got it." Doug said.

"Be careful out there." Natalie said.

"I will." Zach said as he kissed her. Unlike last time, Zach kissed her on the lips. It caught her off guard and made her blush. Zach had always shown her affection, but this was new. Zach separated from the kiss and smiled to the woman. "I love you." Zach said as tears started to form in his eyes as he finally allowed his past relationship with Amaya to fade. He was ready to move on with his life, and he had found the woman of his dreams.

"I…I love you, too." Natalie said. Zach smiled to the woman as he slowly walked away from the group.

Zach exited the barn as the thunderstorm continued to produce a heavy rain on the farm. Zach looked to the house and headed in its direction. He knew what he had to do. He had to take out the other two St. Johns.

As he approached the house, Zach could hear Katjaa screams. "NO! NO! NO!" He looked around searching for Kenny, but there was no sign of the middle-aged man.

He approached the gate to the house and started to walk up to the house. "Just shut up and you'll be fine!" Brenda exclaimed from within the house.

Zach advanced closer to the house as the rain continued to pour. At this point, he was drenched to the bone. "Somethin's up." Zach heard from inside the house. It was Andrew's voice. "I'm going to take the boy and-"

"PLEASE, DON'T TAKE MY BOY." Katjaa pleaded.

"Let go woman!" Andrew said.

"Settle down! I don't want to hurt y'all." Brenda said. Zach continued to get closer and closer to the house.

Suddenly, he saw Brenda appear at the entrance of the door. "Danny is that you?" Brenda asked. "What's going on out there?"

"Where's Katjaa and Duck?" Zach inquired.

"Oh my gosh." Brenda said as she walked away from the door. Zach got up and headed for the door as he heard Brenda yell, "Come here!"

"Let me go!" Katjaa exclaimed. She must have been fighting back

Zach approached the door and could finally see inside. It appeared that Brenda was keeping Katjaa at gunpoint at the base of the stairs. "Zach get back! Don't you come in here." Brenda said. Zach shook his head, and he refused to back down. He looked down to the door knob and turned it to enter the house. "You just had to go snooping around, didn't you?" Brenda asked as she kept the gun pointed to Katjaa's head.

"Let her go Brenda. You know you don't want to do this." Zach said as he raised his hands to show that he wasn't a threat to her.

"Just go away and leave us be." Brenda said as she dragged her hostage up the stairs. Zach continued to approach Brenda until she trained the gun on him. "Zach, don't you take another step." Her whole hand could be seen shaking with the gun as she pointed at Zach. She either didn't want to kill him or she was afraid of him.

"Think about your farm, Brenda. Would Terry wanted any of this?" Zach asked.

"Just leave." Brenda replied as she continued to drag Katjaa up the stairs. Zach approached again until Brenda raised her gun and yelled, "I don't want to kill you, Zach." Zach noticed something that would end the stalemate which was a reanimated Mark wanting to get a hold of any human flesh it could and Brenda was very close to it.

"Please, Brenda." Zach pleaded. "Just let Katjaa go. We'll talk about this."

"Just stop," Brenda replied as she backed away from Zach but she was suddenly grabbed by Mark. She screamed in pain as Mark tore into her flesh and she lost her grip on Katjaa.

Katjaa stumbled down the stairs but easily regained her balance. She looked to Zach with fear and worry in her eyes. "They took Duck!" Katjaa exclaimed. "Where's Kenny?"

"Don't move asshole!" Andrew could be heard yelling from outside.

"Don't you f****** hurt him!" Kenny yelled.

"Oh my gosh!" Katjaa exclaimed as she ran out of the house with Zach close behind her. They both exited the house and saw Kenny snarling at Andrew while Andrew was pointing a gun to Duck's head.

"Andy don't!" Zach exclaimed as he approached him.

Andrew took the rifle's sight off of Duck for a second to address Zach. "Shut up!" Andrew exclaimed.

With a risky charge, Kenny tried to get to Duck back, but ended up getting shot for his efforts by Andrew. Katjaa screamed at the sight of Kenny getting shot, and she quickly rushed to his side. "Andy." Zach said as he raised his hands up.

"Who the f*** do you think you people are?" Andrew exclaimed. "Look at what you done!"

"You brought this upon yourself." Zach said as he slowly approached Andrew.

"We? No, uh oh. All we wanted was some damn gasoline." Andrew said. Suddenly, a gunshot went off and hit Andrew in the ear. It must have been Carley. "AH! Dammit!" Andrew exclaimed as he released Duck from his grip to soothe his shot-off ear.

Duck ran from the man as Zach took his chance and rushed towards him. Andrew noticed Zach's advances and quickly aimed the rifle. Thankfully, Zach latched onto the rifle and pushed it away from him when it was fired. It came down to who could muscle the rifle from whom. Zach soon overpowered Andrew and used the rifle to beat the man's head before they both lost their balance and fell down the hill. The rifle slipped out of their grasp on the way down as both men continued to fall down the hill. They both smashed into the fence and finally came to a stop on the flat ground.

Zach struggled to get up as his body had gone without food for far too long. He received a kick which made him yell in pain. He fell on his back as his opponent Andrew left. Zach groaned as he got back up and looked to Andrew who started up the electric fence. Both men huffed as they raised their fists to fight one another. "I'm going to kill you!" Andrew exclaimed as he rushed towards Zach and threw a punch his way.

Zach's marine training kicked in and he ducked underneath the punch. He quickly grabbed Andrew's arm and flung him over his shoulder and into the ground. Andrew yelped upon hitting the ground, but he quickly reoriented himself and tried to get free, but to no avail. Zach held his arm in place and used it so that Andrew was face down. "Give up!" Zach said. "You've lost!"

"Never!" Andrew exclaimed.

"Fine then." Zach said and he bent back Andrew's arm until there was a loud crack.

"AAHHHH….!" Andrew cried out. "My arm! You broke my f****** arm!" He huffed as Zach released his grip from the man's arm.

Zach looked up to see his group watching him; they were all looking to the marine and were wondering if he was going to kill Andrew. Zach looked down to the man on the ground and said, "It's over."

Zach proceeded to walk away as Andrew huffed heavily from the pain of his broken limb "Is that all you got Zach?" Andrew asked. "You ain't… shit." He used his good arm to get off the ground and tried to attack Zach, but the marine turned around and blocked the punch that was heading his way. He then punched Andrew back and allowed him to fall to the ground.

"I said, it's over! Just walk away!" Zach exclaimed. He turned away from Andrew and continued to walk toward his group.

Andrew struggled to get up and yelled, "Don't you dare walk away from me, Zach! Get back here and finish this, Zach!" However, the marine ignored the dairy farmer and walked up to the group.

"Let's go." Zach said as he led the way to the gate. He could hear the sounds of the walkers coming in from all sides. The fence must be failing which means the farm will be overran in a few minutes.

"Zach…!" Andrew exclaimed in the background. Zach continued to ignore him as he tried to put the nightmare of the dairy behind him, but that would be impossible. What happened today would haunt him for as long as he lived. It was the most desperate thing he had ever seen. "Zach…!" Andrew's voice faded away as the group walked further away from the dairy. Finally, Zach couldn't hear Andrew's cries anymore.

* * *

The walk back to the motor inn was quiet and solemn for the group. Zach looked back to see that Clementine and Natalie were both very quiet and reserved. Doug and Carley came up to Zach and said, "Hey Zach, I'd say I'm sorry that we left the motor inn unprotected, but…" Carley said.

"I'm glad you showed up when you did." Zach said as he looked forward again. "If you hadn't taken that shot of Andy. We might not have made it out of there"

"Were the really eating people for food?" Doug asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Yeah and Clementine almost ate some." Zach responded.

"But…?" Carley asked.

"I stopped her." Zach said. "This world is such a mess. I can't leave her alone even for a second. It's just hiding unspeakable shit at every turn."

"Katjaa says that this was with your stuff." Doug said as he handed a camcorder to him.

"Yeah, it was in a camp where this woman was trying to survive." Zach said. Doug and Carley looked to Zach with an intrigued look as a suggestion to keep going with the story. "Danny killed her, but maybe we can get some answers on this thing." Zach said.

"Sounds good to me." Doug said as he extended his hand out. "I'll see if I can get it working."

Zach nodded and gave the device to Doug. "Thanks Doug." Doug nodded in response as he looked over the camcorder. Zach looked over to Kenny and noticed that he was struggling to keep up and was leaning over. "I better go check on Ken." Zach said.

"Sounds like a plan." Carley said.

Zach approached the family and went toward Kenny as Katjaa stood by. She looked to her husband with worried eyes and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be alright." Kenny said. He turned to Duck with a grin on his face and said, "I'm just not as young as I used to be." Kenny looked up to see Zach approaching him and he turned to Katjaa and Duck. "Hon, why don't you let me and Zach have a minute to talk."

Katjaa obliged and she led Duck away as Zach stood in front of Kenny. "How are you holding up?" Zach asked.

"I've been better, but I've been through worse." Kenny said. The two became rather silent until Kenny sighed and said, "Zach, I need you to come with me and my family. After today, you should know just how strong we are together. We can make this whole thing work."

Zach looked to Kenny and said, "Alright… We got to stick together."

"Exactly. We're a team, pal." Kenny said as he extended his hand out for a handshake. Zach smiled to Kenny and shook his hand. Kenny grunted in pain as he released his hand from the handshake and he said, "I'll chat with you later. The faster Natalie takes a look at this wound, the better."

"Alright, man." Zach said as Kenny passed by him.

Zach looked over to see Clementine and Natalie walking up to him. "How are you two holding up?"

"It's been a very long day, but I'm thankful to be alive." Natalie said.

Zach smiled to the woman before they both looked down to the child. "Clementine?" Zach said to the young girl.

Clementine looked up with a serious and curious look. "Zach, are those bad people dead?" Clementine asked.

Zach pondered for the correct response for a couple of seconds before he said, "We didn't kill them, and maybe they got away from the walkers, but either way, they know that they shouldn't come back and try to hurt us."

Clementine smiled at his response and said, "That's good." She was satisfied that the group didn't have a hand in killing the St. John, but at the same time, she was relieved that they wouldn't come after the group. Zach knew that it was a lie. More than likely all three of the St. Johns were dead, but Clementine didn't need to know that. He would do everything he could to guard her innocence.

"Dad, what's that noise?" Duck asked as the sound of a loud beeping could be heard. It sounded like a car alarm.

"It sounds like a car." Kenny said.

"Oh no, not more strangers," Ben said as Zach passed by both and went toward the source of the beeping.

Zach noticed some sort of light up ahead and he squatted down. He approached the light which was revealed to be a car with its passenger's and probably driver's door open. Zach slowly approached the door and looked inside. He saw the keys in the ignition and saw the gas gauge was low. "That's what I figured," Zach said as he turned the vehicle off and pocketed the keys. However, he did hear a light gasp from the back seat. He turned his head but was unable to see anything and climbed out of the vehicle.

"What's up?" Doug asked.

"I heard a gasp from the back of the vehicle." Zach replied. He walked over to the back seat and his eyes widened. It was that girl! It was Jolene's daughter! Her eyes were puffy, and they read fear. He whole body shook underneath a blanket as Zach opened the door and slowly sat down on the back seat. He didn't want to frighten her, so he tried to speak to her first. "Are you okay?" Zach asked. The girl merely shook her head and started to sob into the blanket. "It's okay…" Zach said as he raised his hand out to the girl, but she quickly backed away.

Zach couldn't get anywhere near her. He retracted his hand and asked, "We have some nice people with us. Can you come with us?"

The girl immediately shook her head and went back to staring aimlessly at the seat. Zach knew that she wasn't that old. She appeared to be Clementine's age, maybe a little older. There was no way that she would survive.

"Zach, let me try." Carley said. Zach nodded and allowed the markswoman to take over. She got into the seat that Zach was in earlier and she said, "Hi sweetie. My name's Carley. What's yours?" Carley actually had a kind and soothing voice. It was motherly and very surprising to hear from the markswoman.

The girl looked up to Carley with intrigue as the woman looked to her with kind eyes. The child grew curious and started to get up. She shakily made her way to Carley and got a closer look at her. Carley noticed the child's shaky steps and brought the girl up on her lap so that the girl wouldn't have to stand on her wobbly legs. Whatever happened to the girl had traumatized her. "Can you tell me your name?" Carley asked as the group watched on patiently. They had to try and save the girl.

"D…D-Dan…Danielle…" The girl stuttered out.

"Danielle?" Carley asked. The girl nodded as Carley gave her a warm smile. "That's a very pretty name for such a pretty little girl." Carley said as she wrapped her arms around the girl in a hug.

Danielle accepted the warmth and comfort from the hug as she started to whimper again. "I want mommy… I want mommy."

"It's okay honey. We'll do our best to find your mommy." Carley said in a comforting tone of voice.

"Oh shit!" Kenny exclaimed. "Baby, you got to see this. There's a shit load of food and supplies back here." The majority of the group made its way toward the abandoned car as Carley continued to try and soothe Danielle. Doug went around and to pick up the blanket for Danielle since she was wearing a short sleeve shirt, a skirt, tights, and flats, and the cool air was dipping into the forties.

Katjaa took a look and said, "This food can save all of us!"

Doug returned to Carley and Danielle and place the blanket around Danielle. At first, the girl stiffened from the man's contact but she immediately relaxed when he backed away.

Carley noticed that the girl shuttered and said, "It's okay. Dougie's a nice man. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He's a nice man." Danielle nodded and looked to Doug. He smiled to the girl as she returned the smile.

"Look we don't know if these people are dead." Ben said not wanting to get involved in taking the supplies.

"If we just take this stuff, we would just be monsters that came out of the woods and ruined their lives." Lilly said.

"This stuff isn't ours." Clementine added in.

"Dad whose car is it?" Duck asked.

"It doesn't matter, it's ours now." Kenny replied.

"It's abandoned Ducky. Don't worry." Katjaa said.

"But what if it's not," Clementine said. Most of the group members turned to the child as she continued, "What if it's not abandoned? What if it is someone's?"

Zach approached Clementine and said, "Clem's right. We can't just ruin someone else's life. We'll do without the supplies." Clementine smiled to Zach with a thankful stare for taking her side.

"What? Did you too get a little something to eat back there where the rest of us didn't? We'll die without this stuff." Kenny said.

"We'll do without." Zach said.

"I agree. I don't feel comfortable about taking any of that stuff." Natalie said.

"Do whatever you want; the rest of us are taking this stuff." Kenny said and he held his hand out for the keys. Zach hesitantly obliged and gave the keys to Kenny.

Kenny walked over to the trunk and opened it. He gathered some of the supplies and handed them off to members who were willing to steal from the car.

Zach, Natalie, and Clementine stood away from the group and watched them pick the car clean. Afterwards, they left the car with its looted supplies in hand. Doug walked up to the trio and said, "Zach, I got that camcorder working. You're not going to believe this." He handed the camcorder to Zach as Zach looked over to Danielle and Carley.

"You won't believe what I'm about to tell you." Zach said.

"What is it?" Doug asked.

"That girl is Jolene's daughter." Zach said.

"Are you sure?" Doug asked.

Zach nodded and said, "I don't forget a face. That girl is the same child in the picture that I found." Doug and Zach looked over to the traumatized girl that Carley had successfully managed to get out of the vehicle and was now carrying.

The two men looked back to each other and Doug asked, "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to go back into her camp and get some of her possessions tomorrow along with her mother's body." Zach said.

"Zach, you can't she's already on the edge as we speak." Doug said. "Bringing her dead mom back would… devastate her… It might push her over the edge."

"We can't just keep lying to her." Natalie said. "But I think we should wait a little while. It might be too much for her."

"Okay." Zach said. He looked back to his camcorder and said, "Well, let's see what we got." He pressed play and was surprised to see its contents. It was Jolene. She was spying on their camp… As the video progressed, Zach, Natalie, and Doug were surprised to see the Save Lots bandits appear. They now knew where the group was… that meant that the motor inn was a deathtrap.

The video ended and Zach looked to his two friends. "We don't have much time. Those bandits know where we're at." Zach said. "And now that we have Danielle with us…"

"…They'll have two reasons to come after us." Natalie said.

"We can't just let them take her. She's been put through enough." Doug said.

Zach turned to Doug and said, "Danielle's a part of this group now. If those bandits want her, then they'll have to take her by force. I don't care if I have to kill each and every one of them… they won't take anyone from this group. Not as long as I'm still breathing. And I don't die easily."

Doug nodded with an appreciative smile. He was happy to see that Zach was willing to keep Danielle safe despite how new she was to the group. Doug turned to the retreating group and then back to Zach. "We should catch up to the group." Doug said.

"Yeah, come on. Let's go." Zach said. "These woods aren't safe anymore." He led Natalie, Doug, and Clementine as they walked over to catch up with the main group. Eventually, they made their way to the motor inn.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Yup. Good ole Dani's in this. Man, she is everywhere in my Fics.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**2 Weeks Later**

Zach and Kenny ran through the streets of Macon, a once beautiful town full of life, but now, was filled with abandoned cars, trash, and the stench of the undead but of course anyone who was still alive at this point had built a tolerance toward the smell. Zach and Kenny reached the end of the street and looked down it to see the pharmacy that they had hit several times at this point for supplies, food, and medicine. Kenny observed the street with a smile and said, "Today seems to be our lucky day."

"Yeah, things might actually go smoothly for once." Zach said.

"We deserve it after last time." Kenny said as he headed for the pharmacy with Zach joining alongside him.

"How's that girl holding up? I saw her the other day with Doug. She looks up to him like a big ole teddy bear." Kenny said with a chuckle. "I'm glad that she's doing so well. Those first couple of days… she would just jump at any movement."

"I'd say Danielle's better. She's over the grieving process, and Carley told me that her nightmares are now off and on." Zach said.

"Boy… that was some rough shit when you brought back that Jolene woman." Kenny said.

"We had to tell Danielle the truth. Despite how brutal it was, Danielle had to learn that she was an orphan so that she could have a healthy relationship with us." Zach said.

"Well, it worked." Kenny said. "She's been all sunshine and rainbows for the last couple of days."

"Yeah, at least we could save someone in this doomed world." Zach said.

"You can say that again, pal." Kenny said. He smirked and asked, "So Zach where do you come down when it comes to leaving or staying?"

"We should go. The motor inn has ran its course; it's not safe." Zach replied.

"That's what I was thinking." Kenny said. "I talked to Lilly about it, but she's dead set on staying at that motor inn. It's a deathtrap."

"She still wants to stay?" Zach asked.

"Yeah… Can't say I blame her. That stuff with Larry was brutal." Kenny said. "I may have hated that old bastard, but well…"

"We did all we could do for him." Zach said. "There was nothing else we could have done."

"Yeah, you're right about that." Kenny said as the two approached a semi-truck and its load which blocked the road. The trailer had the distinguishing feature of a ladder welded onto it. "Alright, into the pharmacy and scraped together what's left." Kenny said.

"We didn't leave much in there." Zach said.

"Well, we're out of options. Something is better than nothing." Kenny said as he started to climb the ladder. Zach turned around and stood guard with his hand hovering over his katana. "Shit." Kenny muttered from behind which was accompanied by a squeak.

"What's wrong?" Zach asked as he turned to address Kenny who was now on top of the trailer.

"The ladder broke. I don't know how many trips she's got left in her." Kenny said.

Zach looked to the crooked ladder and noticed that it was slanted. "I don't know how many trips we got left in us." Zach said.

Kenny chuckled and said, "Yeah…"

Zach approached the ladder and pulled on it which was enough for the ladder to break off the trailer and fall next to him. "Shit what now?" Kenny asked from on top of the trailer.

"I'll find another way up." Zach said as he looked around the area. His eyes immediately rested on a nearby jeep which had a winch attached to the front of the vehicle. Zach walked up to the vehicle and started to pull on the winch. "Lilly's not doing so good since what happened at the St. Johns?" Kenny asked as Zach dragged the hook of the wench to the semi-truck trailer.

"No, she's not." Zach said.

"I think she blames us for what happened." Kenny said.

"You think?" Zach asked.

"She's been snippy with me lately." Kenny said. "I've backed off for the last couple of weeks so she can mourn, but she still bites my head off every once in a while."

Zach huffed as he finally reached the semi-truck trailer and attached the winch to the axle. He got up and looked to Kenny. "I don't know. You might be right." Zach said. "Lilly's going to have to get over her loss and help us. She needs to be our leader again, and she can't do that and sulk at the same time."

"So what should we do?" Kenny asked.

"I don't know. Something's going to have to change. The motor inn is dangerous since the bandits know where we're at." Zach said.

"Yeah, they've attacked us more than once at this point." Kenny said.

Zach walked over to the jeep and turned on the winch so that the jeep would start moving towards the trailer. Some of the debris that was inside of the jeep fell out and landed on the ground. Most of the debris was concreate and wood from the pharmacy which sat next to the jeep. "So, is that girl of yours still mad at me for taking from that car?" Kenny asked.

"I think she understands." Zach said.

"Right. It's not like I wanted to take from that car, but if I hadn't we wouldn't have made it." Kenny said. The jeep bumped into the trailer with the use of the winch. Zach got up on top of the hood of the jeep as Kenny said, "Duck was asking about that guy from Herschel's farm last night? Not much fazes him, but it's all starting to add up."

"It was a scary experience for him. He nearly died and that boy, Shawn, did die." Zach said.

"I just hope that he won't think it's all his fault." Kenny said with sad eyes and a frown forming on his features.

"It's not his fault for what happened. It was just a shitty coincident. We just tried to make the best of it." Zach said.

"One of us did, at least." Kenny said.

"Ken…" Zach said

"I'm done talking about it." Kenny said as he got down and extended his hand out to Zach.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Zach asked.

"Hey, I'm fine, Zach. Give me your hand." Kenny said as his smile returned.

Zach reached up and started to pull himself up with Kenny helping him. Kenny's face soon scrunched up and he groaned in pain. His grip on Zach's hand loosened until he finally let go and clutched his body in pain. "Shit!" Zach exclaimed as he fell down and hit the window of the jeep which made a loud crash in the silent, deserted town. Kenny looked to Zach with an apologetic stare which also contained some of the pain. "Dammit Kenny." Zach said.

"Sorry pal. I just… Sorry. I guess I overdid it." Kenny said.

Suddenly, there was an ear piercing scream that echoed throughout the town. Zach got up and both men looked over to see a young woman run out of the store with a walker chasing her. The young woman looked almost indistinguishable due to her apparel being torn and unclean. "HELP ME!" The woman screamed. "OH NO!" The dormant walkers started come out of their hiding places and started to make their way over to the desperate woman.

"What the hell is that?" Zach asked.

"It looks like some girl." Kenny said as he peered through the scope of the hunting rifle.

"What should we do?" Zach asked.

"I don't know man. We can't reach her from here." Kenny said. He grumbled as he continued to look through the scope of the hunting rifle. "It's too late. She's bit. There's nothing we can do for her now."

"We can put her out of her misery." Zach said as he pulled out his revolver. He aimed toward the girl, but he knew that it would be risky. He was blocks away and shooting with a close range gun.

"No way." Kenny said. "Not only is it a waste of ammunition, but we'll be bringing the herd right to us. Think about it. This woman doesn't know us. She's going to feel a lot of pain, but it'll be worth it for us. What we get in here will keep Duck, Clem, and Dani alive for a couple more days."

Zach looked down and sighed. "You're right." He holstered the handgun and said, "Let's keep moving." Kenny nodded and helped pull Zach up onto the trailer, but unlike last time, Kenny fought against the pain to get Zach on top of the trailer. The two men race across the trailer and jumped off to get on the other side. The woman's screams continued to sound which made both men sick to their stomachs. "Remember, we're doing this for the kids and the group." Kenny said as he and Zach reached the back door of the pharmacy.

"I know." Zach said. They both entered the store and quickly closed the door.

Kenny stepped back away from the door and said, "Sturdy as hell, but we don't have much time." Kenny ran into the pharmacy and pushed a knocked down aisle back up and said, "Get as much as you can get from these racks."

Zach nodded and removed the backpack that he was carrying. He grabbed as much medication and food from the racks as he could. He could still hear the woman scream from outside. Her dying screams were making him feel uneasy but he shook it off. Soon, her screams stopped. Kenny sighed and said, "Alright, now the clock is ticking. We have to get what's left of this stuff." Kenny said as he grabbed more medicine and food. Zach continued to do the same until the back door of the pharmacy busted down and the walkers were starting to get in. Thankfully, the two men had finished collecting the remaining food and medicine from the pharmacy and were ready to move. "Let's go. Up and over." Kenny said and he slid across the counter.

Zach followed his lead; however, a couple of walkers broke the door down which landed on top of Zach. "Kenny help!" Zach exclaimed as he struggled to push the door off. Kenny ran over to help Zach get the door off and together the two man pushed the door aside.

Kenny stood upright and raised the hunting rifle to shoot the two walkers that were on top of the door before he noticed another walker approaching. "The fridge." Kenny said as he gestured to the object which was close to the doorway. Zach went to the object and pushed it over as the walker entered the room. It crushed the walker which meant one less to deal with.

"Come on, we need to get out of here." Kenny said as he shot at more walkers that were heading for him and Zach.

Zach nodded and ran for a cracked portion of the wall which he and Kenny had used countless times. He was about to reach the exit until he heard a growl. He jumped back just in time to avoid the walker's chomp. He huffed as the walker limped towards him until he pulled out his katana and sliced the walker's head in half. "We need to get out of here." Zach said as he sheathed his katana.

"Yeah, come on pal. Let's get out of here." Kenny said as he squeezed through the opening in the wall. Zach soon followed him and the two men left the pharmacy.

* * *

Zach and Kenny approached the motor inn which still showed the woes of the last two weeks. Ever since the St. Johns' Dairy was overran, the bandits had attacked the motor inn repeatedly in a reckless attempt to take any and all supplies within it. Several arrows shafts stuck out of the wall along with just as many bullet holes that had been shot by the bandits.

"Looks like we got the kid on watch again." Kenny said as he looked up to Ben.

"Yeah, seems that way." Zach said as the two arrived at the gate. Zach grunted as he pushed the dumpster back and the two men entered the motor inn.

Zach and Kenny walked up to Lilly's room but stopped upon hearing laughter. They looked over to see Danielle latched onto Doug. He must have been occupied with upgrading his alarm system until the child pounced on him. Danielle had improved over the last couple of weeks. They were able to find her warmer clothes at the motor inn and gave her a yellow hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, a pair of socks, and a pair of white shoes for the upcoming cold weather. She started talking normally after spending a week with the group, and she started to play with Duck and Clementine about four days ago.

"I wonder who's on my back." Doug said with a playful tone in his voice as he reached behind and started to tickle the girl's armpits. "Clem, is that you?"

"No." Danielle giggled out.

"Hmm… is it Duck?" Doug asked.

"No, silly, it's me." Danielle said as she continued to giggle.

"Oh Danielle. That was my next guess." Doug said. Kenny and Zach looked on with smirks before they continued to head to Lilly's room.

Zach looked over to see Clementine drawing, but the girl immediately noticed him and ran towards him. She was also ready for the colder weather, but unlike Danielle, Clementine was persistent to remain in a skirt. So, Zach and Natalie handed her a light blue hooded sweatshirt which was enough to keep the child warm.

"You're back." Clementine chirped as Kenny continued to walk toward Lilly's room. "Ben found some stickers in a drawer and I put them on my walkie." She showed the radio to Zach which had some flower stickers on it.

"Hey, that's neat, baby girl. I'll come find you in a minute." Zach said. Clementine nodded to him and went back over to color. Zach looked ahead and walked over to join alongside Kenny.

Zach knocked at the door which opened a couple seconds later. Lilly looked to the two men and asked, "So what'd you get?"

"What was left." Kenny said as he and Zach handed their backpacks to Lilly. She took the two backpacks over to examine the contents as Kenny said, "We're fine. Thanks for asking."

"This is good." Lilly said as she finished looking over the supplies. She ignored Kenny's previous statement. "We keep going like this, and we'll make it through the winter here."

"The winter? Lilly that's it for supplies. That pharmacy is picked clean!" Kenny exclaimed. "Look, we made a go at this place, but it's just not working!"

"And you think we'll be safer out there?" Lilly asked. She scoffed and said, "It wouldn't take long for all of us to get killed. We can't survive out there."

"We'll die in here." Kenny argued.

"It's getting too dangerous to stay in here, Lilly." Zach said. "Those bandits know where we're at. It'll only be a matter of time till they come in here and try to take everything from us."

"At it again, are we?" Carley asked as she, Katjaa, and Natalie approached the arguing three.

"Can it, Carley." Kenny said.

"Don't boss people around." Lilly said.

"Look, I'm sorry, but someone has to make executive decisions for the group, and I don't think that you're capable of doing that anymore." Kenny said.

"Don't even start with that." Lilly said.

"Look, I think we need to face the facts. The motor inn has ran its course. We have a strong group and a half-way decent vehicle. We should just pack up everything and leave." Zach said. "The bandits haven't attacked us in a while. I don't think they're giving up; I think they're planning. And I don't want to see what they have in store for us."

"All I keep hearing is about leaving the motor inn. You two are driving me insane. All I want is a week of peace… of not hearing it." Lilly said as she glared at the two men. Suddenly, something snapped in the woman and she yelled out, "It's not going to be easier out on the road!"

"How would you know?" Kenny inquired. "All you ever do anymore is sulk about your dead father while the rest of us have to figure out what to do!"

"Ken!" Katjaa said in a warning tone of voice, but it was too late.

Lilly was shocked by Kenny's outburst, but she quickly seethed and glared at him. "F*** YOU! You think this is easy for me especially when some f****** asshole is stealing from us? IT'S NOT! So f*** off!" Lilly shouted as she ran up and slammed the door in front of the group.

"Smooth, Ken." Natalie said.

"Yeah, yeah, somehow, I always end up as the bad guy." Kenny muttered as he walked away from Lilly's room with Katjaa close behind him.

"Well, things are coming to a head." Carley said.

"You can say that again." Zach said. He then smirked and said, "I noticed that Danielle's having a good day."

"Definitely. My gosh. I'm so glad that we were able to save her." Carley said. "Doug and I have thought about asking her if she would want us as her adoptive parents, but I think it's still too early."

"Yeah, she might need a little more time, but don't worry. I see that little sparkle in her eyes when she sees you or Doug." Natalie said. "She loves you both very much."

"Thanks." Carley said. She turned to Zach and said, "So how'd it go out there today? I noticed that you and Kenny brought back a lot of supplies."

"It… we had to make a sacrifice." Zach said which made both woman look to him with a questioning stare.

"What do you mean by sacrifice?" Carley asked.

Zach looked down with a frown forming on his lips. He sighed before he looked up to Carley and Natalie. "We… had to let this young woman die to get the supplies." Zach said. "The walkers were all over her. She wouldn't have made it regardless."

"Holy shit." Carley said with her eyes wide with horror.

"Zach, how could you do that?" Natalie asked. She was equally scared of the man.

Zach lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry. I just… I was thinking about the kids."

Both women huffed and Carley said, "Well, what's done is done. Who knows? Maybe you did do the right thing." Zach looked up to Carley and nodded to her before she walked away.

Natalie looked to Zach with concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry that you had to something like that." Natalie said.

Zach huffed and leaned against the RV with his head down. "I was trained to save lives… to help people no matter what… but the rules have changed." Zach said. He looked up to Natalie and continued, "There's no more heroes left in this world, only survivors."

"I understand. Thank you for looking out for the group. It's not an easy decision to let someone die like that, but it's the only one that works now." Natalie said. Zach smiled to the woman. He was thankful that she understood his daily struggles. She turned to Lilly's door and said, "You should probably go talk to Lilly about the missing supplies. With her wound up the way she is, I don't want to see her paranoid."

"Yeah, you're right." Zach said as he started to make his way to the leader's door, but he stopped when he felt Natalie's hand on his arm.

"And I'd like to talk to you when you have a moment." Natalie said.

Zach smiled to Natalie and nodded to the woman. She released Zach from her grip and went over to watch Clementine and Danielle who were both busy coloring.

Zach looked to Lilly's door and headed inside to see the woman leaned over in her bed with her head buried in her hands. Zach took a seat in front of her as she looked up. "I'm sorry." Lilly said.

"You don't have to apologize." Zach said.

"Did you come in here to coddle me or give me hell?" Lilly asked.

"I came in here to follow up on what you said earlier… about someone who's stealing from us." Zach said.

"Do you know what's going on?" Lilly asked.

"I don't. I just heard you mention it." Zach said.

"The count's off and it's the good stuff. Anything with Opium in it… gone." Lilly said.

"I did the count yesterday… it looked fine." Zach said.

"I keep my own; it's an emergency stash. That's the one that keeps getting messed with." Lilly said. "I'm a f****** mess right now, but I'm no idiot. I know what will happen if I start a witch hunt."

"So you want me to start one?" Zach inquired.

"I want you to look around." Lilly said.

Zach sighed and said, "Alright, what's there to go on?"

Lilly reached down from under her bed and pulled out one of the bulky flashlights that the group had. "I found this tossed in the garbage." She handed it to Zach so that he could examine it.

"It's busted." Zach said as he looked over the flashlight. The bulb and the lens were broken on it.

"Exactly, we don't toss out equipment; we fix it. You would only toss it if you were using it when you weren't supposed to be." Lilly explained.

"Yeah, something's up. I'll go poke around a little bit." Zach said as he got off the chair.

"Good, thank you." Lilly said before she looked back down to the ground.

Zach left the room and nearly jumped when he heard Duck. "A mystery?"

Zach turned to the boy and said, "Man, where did you learn the sneaky ninja skills from? I didn't even know you were there."

Duck chuckled and said, "Yeah, sorry… I heard you guys talking."

"Sorry, Duck. This is out of your league. Go play with Dani and Clem. I'm heading that way anyway." Zach said.

"But I don't want to hang out with them. They're always talking about girly stuff like doing each other's nails and hair. It's boring." Duck complained. "I want to solve a mystery."

"Duck…" Zach said.

"No listen, you can be the greatest detective and I can be Dick Grayson, your ward." Duck said.

Zach sighed and said, "Alright, fine… Go look around Robin. Come get me if you see anything weird."

Duck grinned and said, "I'm on the case." He then ran off while Zach chuckled. The boy had so much energy. Zach couldn't believe that he was like the boy when he was younger.

Zach looked over to Clementine, Danielle, and Natalie and walked over to them first. Clementine noticed her guardian approaching her so she sat upright. "Hi Zach." Clementine said.

"Hey Clem." Zach said as he knelt down to her height. He looked over to the radio that Clementine carries around and said, "Your radio looks really cool, Clem."

"Thanks, you like it?" Clementine asked.

"You bet I do." Zach said which made the girl smile.

"What's that you're working on Clem?" Zach asked as he looked down to her work.

"It's called a leaf rub." Clementine said. "My teacher, Ms. Moore, taught me how to make it when we went to the Botanical Garden once." She held up her paper which had a sketch of a leaf on it and said, "See it's the same. Well kind of."

"Now, that's really something." Zach said.

"I'll make one for you too." Clementine said.

"Thanks Clem, I'd like to have one." Zach said. Clementine smiled as Zach got back up. She soon went back to drawing as Zach looked over to Danielle. "How are you doing, Danielle?"

"Good." Danielle said. "I like it here. Can I stay with you guys?" She looked to Zach hoping that he would say yes.

"Of course you can stay here. You're one of us now." Zach said.

Danielle smiled and said, "Thank you." She looked back down to her drawing as Zach looked over to Natalie.

"You wanted to talk, right?" Zach asked.

"I did. Come." Natalie said as she started to drag Zach away from Clementine and Danielle. As soon as they were a couple of yards from the two girls, Natalie held onto both of Zach's hands and said, "I've been thinking about you… about us."

"I think about you too." Zach said which made Natalie blush.

"Do you… Do you really like me?" Natalie asked.

Zach smirked before he kissed the woman. The kiss was intense and very passionate for both people. They separated and huffed heavily. "Does that answer your question?" Zach asked.

Natalie smiled and said, "Yeah. Maybe we could spend some time with each other tonight. I don't think Kenny and Katjaa would mind looking after Clem for the night."

Zach's smile fell and he said, "I… I can't."

Natalie frowned and asked, "Why not? You just kissed me. You love me, don't you?" Her eyes were starting to tear up as she waited for the marine's response.

"Baby, I do love you, but… Lilly just told me that she wants me to go and find a new place to settle down at." Zach lied.

"Oh…" Natalie said. She looked down with a frown.

"Hey don't worry. We'll spend some time with each other, soon." Zach said as he lifted her chin up.

Natalie smiled and said, "Can't wait." Zach placed his arm back down to his side. However, Natalie soon became perplexed by what Zach said. "I thought Lilly wanted to stay here."

"Yeah, but I convinced her otherwise." Zach said.

"What about the supplies disappearing?" Natalie asked.

Zach looked around to see if there was anyone nearby before he addressed the woman. "There's a traitor amongst us." Zach said.

"Wait, what?" Natalie asked as her eyes widened in horror.

"Someone has been taking our supplies. Lilly keeps an emergency stash in her room and it keeps getting tampered with." Zach said. He then showed the busted flashlight to Natalie and said, "This flashlight was in the dumpster. We don't toss stuff like this. We fix it, and if we can't, we use it for parts."

"Yeah, there's too many coincidences going on." Natalie said. "You're not thinking it's me, right?"

"No, of course not. That's why I'm telling you all of this." Zach said. "I know you, and I know that you would never put Clem's safety in danger."

"So who else could it be?" Natalie asked as she looked to the group.

"I don't know." Zach said. "It couldn't be one of the kids. They would all know better. Carley and Doug have been with us since the start so I don't think it would be them. Kenny and Katjaa wouldn't put Duck in danger… And Ben… he couldn't conspire to tie someone's shoelaces together."

Natalie giggled at Zach's remark and said, "Well, with Duck looking around for you, it won't be long till you find out what's going on."

"Ain't that truth." Zach said as he looked over to the youthful boy.

"Good luck." Natalie said before she walked over to join Clementine and Danielle. Zach smiled to the woman before he walked over to Kenny and Katjaa.

"Hey guys." Zach said. "What's going on?"

"Hey, just having a little spat." Kenny said.

"We all have to carry guns now, and I just don't like it." Katjaa said. Her voice left no room for debate, but that didn't stop Kenny.

"It's the way it's gotta be." Kenny said.

"I guess so… I'm sorry, how are you, Zach?" Katjaa asked.

"I'm good. I… uh, could use your help." Zach said.

"Sure what's up, pal?" Kenny asked.

Zach showed the two the flashlight and said, "We're missing some supplies. Lilly found this in the dumpster this morning."

"F***, we don't have many of those." Kenny said.

"Yeah, that's a problem." Zach said.

"You know? I saw some broken glass over by the ice machine." Katjaa explained as she looked over to the said object. "I meant to clean it up before the kids hurt themselves on it, but I forgot."

"Good, thanks." Zach said. "I'll go check it out." He gave a quick nod to the middle-aged couple before he walked over to the ice machine.

"Hey, Zach." Doug said. Zach stopped and looked over to the stocky man. Doug approached the former marine and said, "Thanks again for what you did for Dani. You know she's a wonderful little girl."

"Yeah no problem. She's a welcomed addition to the little family we got here." Zach said as he looked over to the young girl.

"Speaking of which, Carley and I have been talking about adopting her sometime in the future." Doug said.

"Yeah, Carley was talking to me about that. I think you both would make excellent parents for Danielle." Zach said.

Doug smile to his friend's encouragement and said, "Thanks Zach. I better get back to work."

"Yeah, I gotta help Lilly with something. Chat with you later Doug." Zach said.

"Later." Doug said as he went back upgrading on his alarm system.

Zach looked over to the glass on the ground and walked over to it. He picked up a couple of shards and lined up the shards of glass to the busted lens of the flashlight. It was a perfect match. He got up and looked around the area until he turned the corner to see a marking on the wall. It was a pink 'X'.

"Pink, hmm…?" Duck said as he joined alongside Zach.

"Yeah, what do you think Boy Wonder?" Zach asked as he played along with Duck's antics of playing a superhero.

"Maybe, it's a sign." Duck said.

Zach's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't know that Duck was so smart. He must have been hiding it all this time. "That's exactly what I was thinking." Zach said.

Duck gave a proud smile and said, "Okay, back to investigating." He ran off in search of any other weird phenomenon throughout the motor inn while Zach continued to try and connect the dots.

Zach looked down to the chalk drawings that Clementine and Danielle did a couple days back and decided to ask them if they have seen their pink chalk. He walked over to the two girls and Natalie and crouched down to their level. "Hey Clem, Dani, do you two have any pink chalk?"

"No, it's gone somewhere." Danielle said. "We haven't seen it for a couple days now."

"Do you want blue." Clementine asked.

"No that's okay." Zach said.

"Hey Zach." Duck said. Zach turned his head to see the boy gesturing him to come over. Zach got up and proceeded to walk over to Duck as he held out his hand which held some pink chalk. "I found this pink chalk and a scuff of it over by the gate."

"Really?" Zach asked. "Let's go check it out." He walked over to the dumpsters and pushed it to see the wheels produce a pink trail. He reached down in front of the wheel and grabbed another piece of pink chalk. "Another piece of chalk. Someone was over here too." Zach said.

"See, I did good, huh?" Duck said.

"Yeah, you did, Duck. You did very good." Zach said.

"High five!" Duck said as he raised his hand up. Zach chuckled and he obliged to the boy's wish. "Cool." Duck said.

Zach pushed the dumpster out further and said, "Stay here, okay?"

"Okay." Duck said. Zach turned his attention to the dumpster and squeezed between both of the dumpsters. He walked along the outside wall trying to find anything out of the ordinary until he noticed a crate.

The crate was out of the ordinary since it was so far away from the main gate. All things considered, it was out of sight. No one would be able to see it while they were on watch. Zach got down and removed the crate from its spot in the wall to see a small paper bag inside. He opened the paper bag and his eyes widened. It was the medical supplies that Lilly had mentioned. "Shit…" Zach muttered.

He got back up and looked around. This minor problem of having a few supplies missing just expanded to a big time threat. Someone was leaving supplies out… and they were probably meant for the bandits. That's why the bandits haven't attacked the group for so long. Someone was working with them!

Zach ran for the gate and sprinted for Lilly's room with the bag of supplies in hand. He ignored everyone's questioning and worrying glances until he finally reached Lilly's room.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Oh man… things are starting to heat up. By the way, Zach and Natalie are wearing some warmer clothes as well. Zach is wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt over a black shirt but the rest of his attire remains the same. Natalie is wearing a purple sweater, but the rest of her attire remains the same.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Lilly looked to Zach and asked, "You didn't happen to find anything, did you?"

"We are in BIG trouble." Zach said. He handed her the bag of supplies and said, "That was in a crate on the outside wall and there's a sign on the other one. I think someone is working for those bandits. It's the reason why they haven't attacked us for the last couple of days."

"Holy f***." Lilly muttered. Her eyes were wide in fear. She huffed as she tried to recollect herself from the shocking news and said, "Okay, we line everybody up, and I mean everybody."

"F*** that." Zach said as he pounded his fist on the table. "We need to get the f*** out of here, now. It's only a matter of time till those bandits come over here and atta-"

Suddenly, both Lilly and Zach were startled when they heard a loud, unknown voice. "You don't f******* steal from us!"

"What the f***?" Lilly exclaimed as she peered out the window.

"You made the biggest mistake of your lives!" The supposed leader of the bandits exclaimed. Zach recognized him. He was the same bandit that he, Mark, Doug, Carley, Ben, and the St. Johns saw on the way to the dairy.

Zach turned and could roughly make out the remaining bandits and saw that they were holding the group hostage. "F***. They have our people out there!" Zach exclaimed.

"Shit, they'll be kicking down doors any minute!" Lilly exclaimed as she ran over to grab the hunting rifle off the nightstand.

"Lilly, what are you doing?" Zach asked.

"Stall them." Lilly said as she opened the window to her room. "Do whatever it takes to keep them from pulling the trigger." She squeezed out the window with the hunting rifle in hand. No doubt that she was going to get on the high ground.

Zach huffed before he reached for the doorknob and turned it to head outside. He stepped out of the room and approached the bandits as the leader exclaimed, "Enough of this bullshit! Drew start putting your foot to these doors."

"Yeah!" One of the bandits exclaimed.

"Hold it, asshole!" The leader said as he raised his handgun at Zach.

"Put that gun down before someone gets hurt." Zach said. He looked to his group members and noticed that they were all scared, especially Danielle who was whimpering. These bandits must have been the ones that traumatized her. He glared at the hostile group of bandits and asked, "Why are you doing this? Just leave us the f*** alone!"

"Why? This f****** guy… Because we gotta that's why." The leader spat. Danielle's whimpering was getting louder which caught the attention of the leader. Carley tried to shush the frighten child but it was too late. "Hmm… on second thought." The leader said as he grabbed the girl. She yelped from the uncomfortable contact and was hoisted up by the bandit leader. His arm was around her waist and she started to hyperventilate. "Tell you what, we'll leave you alone for the rest of the day, since you have a nice little treat here. And we need some… entertainment."

Zach was surprised by what the leader was suggesting and sent a death glare at him. "Leave her alone." Doug said.

"Shut up!" The leader exclaimed as he looked to man who had come to care for the young girl.

"NO, YOU'RE DEAD!" Zach bellowed before he quickly pulled out his revolver and shot the bandit leader in the skull. The corpse of the bandit leader fell to the ground with Danielle. She cried as she curled up in a small ball.

"Oh f***!" One of the bandits exclaimed after watching her leader get shot.

Everyone watched on surprised by Zach's sudden and shocking anger. Before any of the other bandits could react with their weapons, Zach turned his revolver on the oldest bandit and shot him dead with his revolver.

The third bandit who was armed with a crossbow aimed at Zach. She was about to shoot him until a shot rang out and hit her in the skull. The shot came from the balcony and was from a hunting rifle. It was Lilly.

"Quick, run for it!" Kenny exclaimed as he ran for the RV. Katjaa, Clementine, and Duck ran for cover which came in the form of the chair. Meanwhile, Ben and Natalie ran to the sofa for cover.

The last bandit knew he was beaten and ran to escape, but Zach wouldn't let him get away with attacking them that easily. He shot at the retreating bandit twice with both shot going through his torso. He shouted out in pain as he fell to the ground. He laid there coughing up blood while dying from his wounds as Zach glared at him.

Zach turned his attention to Carley and Doug who were comforting Danielle, but she was too withdrawn and frightened from being held captive by the bandit leader.

"It's over, sweetheart. He won't be able to hurt you." Carley said. Doug proceeded to pick up the small six year old girl and held her like a toddler to help her cope with her recent fright.

Zach looked to the dumpster which acted as the gate and saw it move which was accompanied by the loud yells of more bandits coming to attack the motor inn. "Get to the RV!" Zach exclaimed as he fired a shot at the dumpster. This stopped the bandit's advances temporarily and allowed Zach, Carley, and Doug who was carrying the traumatized child to get behind the RV.

"Dougie get her inside. Zach and I will handle this." Carley said to her husband.

"You got it." Doug said and he went inside the RV with Danielle still in his arms.

The two looked over just in time to see Ben try to run for the RV, but it didn't work. One of the bandits shot at him and made him fall down. He immediately crawled back for cover as Kenny came out of a room which was used as the group's armory. He had a hunting rifle in each hand. "We need to get out of here!" Kenny exclaimed.

"No shit!" Zach exclaimed.

"Kill those bastards, cover our people, and then we need to go." Kenny explained over the constant gunfire. Kenny handed the hunting rifles to Zach and Carley before he entered the RV. The two looked at each other with a questioning look on who would take what side.

"You take the rear. It's easier to stay in cover. I'll take the front." Zach said.

"You got it." Carley replied. She looked down the sights and aimed at the bandits that were trying to get close to the RV. She fired off a couple of shots as Zach went to the front of the RV. Zach set his sights on one of the bandits and instantly killed him with a headshot as the bandit tried to duck back down behind the dumpster. One of the bandits tried to move to cover to get a better shot at Zach, but the former marine shot him as he moved to a new form of cover.

He trained his rifle at the dumpster and saw one bandit get up to shoot at him while the other ran for cover. "Smart distraction, but not good enough." Zach said with an icy cold tone in his voice. He turned his rifle away from the bandit behind the dumpster and shot the one that was trying to get closer to the RV. He turned his sights back to the dumpster and waited for the bandit to pop his head up again, but then he noticed the same bandit retreating. "I don't think so." Zach said as he aimed the rifle at the retreating figure. He fired the shot and killed the last bandit with a headshot.

Zach huffed and turned to Katjaa, Duck, and Clementine and said, "Now hurry!"

"Zach!" Clementine exclaimed as she ran up to the young man and hugged him tightly.

Zach hugged the child back and said, "It's okay baby girl. Just get inside the vehicle." He looked over to see Katjaa and Duck get up, but a walker came from behind and knocked them both over. "Oh crap…" Zach muttered as he quickly released the girl and grabbed his hunting rifle. Katjaa struggled with the walker until Zach shot the creature.

"Shit, Kat, are you okay?" Kenny asked as he ran out of the RV. He helped his family get up and they ran for cover.

Zach looked back to see Natalie running over with several bags while Carley lowered her rifle. "You alright?" Zach asked as he approached his girlfriend.

"Yeah. I got some of our supplies and possession from the rooms." Natalie said with a proud smile.

"I covered for her." Carley said.

"Good job. Both of you." Zach said. He smirked upon seeing Natalie struggle with the heavy backpacks and said, "Here, I'll help you." He took several backpacks from her.

"Thanks." Natalie said and the three adults and child walked into the RV.

Zach and Natalie laid the backpacks down as Clementine held her arms up to be picked up by Natalie. The woman smiled to the child and picked her up as the girl asked, "Did you get my lion?"

"Of course, it's in here somewhere." Natalie said as she sat down with the young girl on her lap. She rummaged through Clementine's backpack as Kenny continued to try and start the RV, but the engine was only revving.

Zach adjusted his vision to Carley, Doug, and Danielle. He went to the back of the RV where Doug had Danielle on his lap and Carley was comforting her. She seemed to be settling down since Carley was able to give her the rabbit plush toy that the child desired.

"Don't worry honey. Those bandits won't hurt you." Carley said in a motherly tone of voice.

"You… You promise?" Danielle asked.

"I promise." Carley said with a smile. The girl soon smiled as well.

Suddenly, everyone could hear it. It sounded like bells. Kenny halted in his attempts to start the RV upon hearing the bells. "What the f*** is that?" Kenny asked.

"It's my alarm system." Doug said.

"Shit…" Carley muttered. She turned to Danielle and said, "Okay, stay here with Dougie. I'll be right back."

"But Carley?" Danielle exclaimed as she held out her hands to stop the woman.

"I'll be back, sweetheart. I promise." Carley said. She turned to Zach and said, "Let's go." Zach nodded and the two ran out of the RV to confront the slowly approaching heard. The gunshots must have drawn them to the motor inn. Zach and Carley shot at the approaching herd, but they knew they were only buying time until the RV started.

"I'm out!" Zach exclaimed as his hunting rifle clicked instead of firing.

"I am too!" Carley exclaimed.

Suddenly, the vehicle that they used for cover came to life which surprised the two, but also gave them a sense of relief. Finally, they can leave the doomed motel. Carley ran inside the RV as Zach looked up to Lilly. "Lilly get down here. We're leaving, NOW." Zach quickly entered the vehicle as Kenny could be heard tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel. He was waiting for Lilly.

The group looked over to see Lilly run inside the RV. With her now inside, Zach yelled, "Go, Ken!" There wasn't a second's delay, the vehicle's tires screech and the RV started moving. Zach, Lilly, and Carley hung onto some of the furniture in the RV as everyone else swayed in their seats. The RV rammed through the brick wall that surrounded the motor inn as gunshots and arrows hit the side of the vehicle.

Finally, the RV was out on the open road. The group's ordeal with the bandits was over, but their troubles were just beginning and Zach knew that. There was a traitor amongst them and he knew Lilly was out for blood.

"Kat, shit, are you okay?" Kenny asked.

"I'm fine." Katjaa said. Duck was up in the cab with her and she had received a wound to her head. "I'm fine."

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Ben said. His head was in his hands and his voice was shaky. He looked up to Lilly and said, "I'm sorry."

"Calm down, kid. You couldn't have known that they were going to rush you like that." Zach said.

"Look, everything's fine." Natalie said.

"Everything is not fine." Lilly said. "We just lost everything."

"Well, we're lucky as shit to have this RV." Kenny said as he kept his eyes on the road.

"And nobody died." Carley added.

"Kat's head is split open!" Kenny exclaimed.

"I'm fine." Katjaa said.

"Someone did this. Someone was working with those assholes." Lilly said. "They didn't receive their last package so they attacked."

"Calm down back there. That's nuts." Kenny said.

"Zach found a crate on the outside wall with some of our supplies in it." Lilly retorted.

All eyes turned to the man as he said, "It's true." Their eyes widened in horror and a dreadful silence lingered in the RV for a couple of tense seconds.

"So, Natalie, do you have something to say?" Lilly asked.

"What?" Natalie asked.

"We have to get it out of you then." Lilly said with an icy cold stare aimed at the woman.

"I didn't do this. Why would you think I did this?" Natalie said.

Lilly huffed and said, "I've had my suspicions."

"Probably not the best time for it, Lilly." Kenny said.

"If not now, then when? Look at what just happened." Lilly replied with a snarl.

"Natalie's trustworthy; she's not a traitor, Lilly." Zach said.

"Thank you, Zach." Natalie said.

"She can fight her own battles." Lilly said as she turned her gaze to Zach. She then turned back to Natalie and said, "Unless, there is something that implies you both."

"Look, I didn't steal from you. I would have no reason to do so." Natalie protested.

"Lilly, let's think about this logically." Doug said, but Lilly ignored his input.

"Yeah, maybe we should vote or…something-" Ben said but was interrupted when Lilly glared at him. The boy gulped upon receiving the glare.

"Vote? What?" Lilly inquired.

"Look, Natalie is a real stand-up gal and I…" Ben said but he trailed off.

"Let's just let it go. I mean people make mistakes and yeah this is a real freaking doozy, but it is not worth it, Lilly." Zach said.

"Then what do we not forgive, honestly?" Lilly yelled. "Carley can kill my dad, Natalie can steal from us! Where do we draw the line?"

"Your dad was already dead. He died from a heart attack." Zach said. "We already killed the people responsible in your father's death. The St. Johns killed your father, not Carley. And we don't know who was working with those assholes, but it's not going to change anything if we find out. What are you going to do? Kill that person?"

"No one was stealing anything." Ben said.

"Look me in the eye and say that." Lilly said as she glared at the boy. She did not give him much space to breathe. She was hoping to intimidate him and get an answer from him

"Lilly, please, just leave him alone." Natalie said.

"I…" Ben started to say but was cut off when there was a loud thump in the front of the vehicle.

The vehicle rocked as Kenny exclaimed, "Shit!"

Lilly lost her glare and looked up to the front of the RV. "What's going on up there?" Lilly asked.

"I hit something. We got to pull over." Kenny explained as he slowed the RV down.

"We can deal with this now then." Lilly said as she glared back down at Ben.

Eventually, the RV came to a stop. "Ken, is it safe?" Zach asked.

"Should be." Kenny replied.

"Everybody out!" Lilly demanded.

"Lilly…." Zach said. He wanted her to slow down and think about her actions, but he knew that it was too late. She wouldn't calm down until she found the traitor and held dealt with that traitor.

"Out!" Lilly demanded and went right past him. One-by-one each group member stepped out of the RV until it was Zach, Carley, Clementine, Doug and Danielle. However, Doug wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Danielle was in a fragile state and she didn't want to be moved from the man who was comforting her.

Zach held out his arm to stop Carley and looked to the woman. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Kind of bad timing for this." Carley said.

"Stay here and keep Clem away from the door." Zach said. "It's not going to end well out there, and I don't want her to see what happens."

"I understand." Carley said.

"Thank you. I'll try to stop Lilly, but I would feel better if Clem stayed in here away from the violence." Zach said.

"Yeah, no problem." Carley said.

Zach nodded to the markswoman before he looked down to Clementine. "Okay sweetie, I need you to stay in here with Carley and Doug. They'll look after you."

"You're going to be okay, right?" Clementine asked. Her amber orbs looked to him with worry and she seemed to be shaking. She was scared.

"Of course." Zach said. "It's going to be okay." He hugged the little girl which was followed by him kissing her on her forehead.

"ZACH!" Lilly shouted from outside.

"Gotta go." Zach said as he stood upright.

"Don't worry. I got her." Carley said. Zach nodded to her before he went down the stairs of the RV. He looked to the group with both Natalie and Ben showing fear in their features while Lilly seemed frustrated.

"Where's everyone else?" Lilly inquired.

"They don't need to see this, whatever you're planning." Zach said.

"Yes, they do. They need to find out what we do with traitors." Lilly said as she turned her scowl to Ben and Natalie.

"I think you should just chill out!" Ben exclaimed.

"This is ridiculous!" Natalie exclaimed.

"I'm really sorry to hear that but maybe you both are behind this." Lilly replied with a cold and icy tone in her voice.

"What!" Ben exclaimed.

"Oh this dumb, f*** walker!" Kenny yelled while he struggled to pull the walker out from underneath the RV.

"You okay over there." Zach asked.

"Yeah, yeah, son of a bitch." Kenny muttered.

"Ben you have no other option." Lilly said.

"Leave him alone." Natalie demanded.

"You can tell me it was Natalie, then everything will be as right as rain." Lilly said to Ben while ignoring Natalie's protests.

"I'm not doing this." Zach said.

"Come on, Zach, you're the one who found them. You can't just abstain." Lilly said.

"F*** all that, this is nuts! We're out here on the side of the road!" Zach exclaimed.

"Fine then." Lilly said. She directed her attention to Kenny and asked, "Kenny what's it going to be?"

"I don't know. F***, just stop would ya?" Kenny said as he continued to wrestle with the walker.

"Well, your vote counts for you and Katjaa." Lilly said.

"We don't need all these votes! What do I have to do for you to trust me? I'll do anything!" Ben exclaimed. "I'll do watches for a month!"

"The hell you will." Lilly spat.

"I'll get more food, more medicine!" Ben exclaimed.

"Do you think any of that is good now?" Lilly shouted.

"Just let me stay please!" Ben's exclaimed but it was no use. Lilly shook her head in disappointment.

"Stop panicking!" Zach exclaimed. "Seriously Ben just stop and take a breath!"

"Do we need any more evidence than this?" Lilly exclaimed as she turned to Zach.

"Screw evidence, this isn't how we treat one of us!" Natalie exclaimed.

"Shut up, Natalie. I've hear enough out of you!" Lilly exclaimed. She looked over to Kenny and asked, "Kenny what's it going to be?"

"Just give me a damn minute!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Ben, you have until Kenny kills that walker to tell me it was her and not you." Lilly said as she gestured to Natalie.

"Stop this! You're torturing him!" Natalie exclaimed.

"Ben!" Lilly exclaimed. She was frustrated that the teen wasn't responding.

"No!" Ben exclaimed.

"This is about trust and I never trusted you." Lilly said.

"I did it." Zach said which caught everyone off guard.

"What?" Lilly said with an angry tone in her voice.

"That's right it was me. Does that get you to lay off the kid?" Zach inquired.

"I think you're capable of being a real piece of shit but I know it wasn't you, not with Clementine in your life." Lilly said.

"Please let's just get back into the RV." Ben pleaded.

"That's not happening." Lilly responded.

"It's over, Lilly. What's done is done." Natalie said. "All of this is not necessary. Let's just calm down, okay?" The woman's words did nothing for Lilly but make her scowl even more.

Kenny managed to get the walker out from underneath the RV and crushed it with his boot. "There I got it." Kenny said as he approached the group. "Now what the hell is the problem?"

Zach turned back to see Lilly aiming Natalie. He ran forward and shoved Natalie away just as a loud boom could be heard. He felt a sharp pain in his side, and he fell to the ground. He also heard Natalie scream out in horror. "NO! ZACH!" Natalie screamed as the marine clutched his side.

Zach gritted his teeth from the pain, but he was thankful that Natalie was okay. Next thing Zach heard was Kenny yelling and charging at Lilly. "YOU F****** MOTHERF*****! YOU SHOT HIM!" He held her against the RV while she dropped the gun.

"I-I didn't mean to. I swear!" Lilly said as tears formed in her eyes.

Zach groaned, and grunted as he got back up while Natalie shook her head. "Y-You can't. Just relax, please." Natalie pleaded with Zach.

"I've taken worse hits." Zach huffed. He turned to Kenny and Lilly and said, "Let her go, Ken."

"The f***! She just shot you man! And if that shot didn't hit you, it would have hit Natalie!" Kenny exclaimed.

"I know, Ken." Zach said as he huffed. "We're going to tie her up and we'll decide what to do with her later."

"She nearly killed you!" Kenny exclaimed.

"I know." Zach huffed. "But we're not leaving her on the side of the road. We don't need to stoop down to her level." He looked back inside to see Carley and Clementine at the door. Clementine had her hands over her mouth and Carley looked to Zach shocked by the amount of tolerance he had for pain. "It's okay." Zach said. He turned to Natalie and said, "Won't mind stitching up a wound this late in the day?"

"I don't mind. Especially when it's you." Natalie said. Zach smiled to his girlfriend and the two walked inside.

Zach sat on the couch and took off his hooded sweatshirt. He huffed heavily as Ben, Carley, and Lilly came back inside. Natalie lifted up Zach's shirt to expose the bloody wound. Zach could feel the wound. It hadn't produced too much blood, so there were no organs or arteries that were hit.

Clementine walked over to Zach and Natalie and asked, "Is he going to be okay?" Her voice was cracked and her legs were visibly wobbly.

Natalie turned to the child and said, "I think so baby. I think it's worse than a graze, but it didn't hit anything important. You're not bleeding enough to where it was a major organ or artery."

"I'll be fine." Zach said. "Did the bullet go through cleanly?"

"Let me check." Natalie said as she pulled Zach forward. The marine groaned from the pain and huffed heavily until he heard her say, "Yeah, there's an exit wound. I'm going to stitch you up, okay?"

"Yeah go for it." Zach said. "I can take the pain. I've been through worse." He groaned in pain as Natalie began stitching the wound. "Ahhh…" Zach said as the thriving pain continued with the stinging of the needle going through his skin and muscle.

"Sorry." Natalie said.

"No you're good. Just finish up." Zach said. He huffed as the pain started nullify until he was forced to lean forward again. He felt the needle's painful sting on the exit wound, but it was nowhere near as painful. Finally, Natalie finished and pushed him back in his seat. "Good job and thank you." Zach said.

"I should be the one to thank you. You save my life tonight." Natalie said. Zach smiled to her before he leaned over and kissed the woman. Natalie kissed back and the two enjoyed their intimate kiss, but not for very long since Zach was in pain. They separated and Natalie said, "I better wash up."

"Okay." Zach said.

"Zach come here please." Katjaa said from the front of the vehicle.

Zach huffed as he got off from the sofa. Despite a sharp pain from his side, he approached the cab and asked, "What's up?" The middle-aged couple looked to each other with an unsure glance before looking down to Duck. "Is Duck feeling alright?" Zach asked.

Katjaa looked down to her son and lifted his shirt to reveal a bite mark. It looked like a human chomp. "Oh no…" Zach said.

"Happened durin the raid." Kenny said. His eyes were now looking back down the road ahead.

"What's the plan? We've never had to deal with a bite victim in the group before." Zach said.

There was a few seconds of silence until Katjaa said, "I'm going to keep an eye on him from a medical perspective."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Zach said.

"I thought you would be opposed to it." Kenny said. "I mean… what if he does turn?"

"We don't know anything about this disease. For all we know, Duck might make it." Zach said.

"I'm glad that you think that way." Kenny said as a smile formed on his lips. "We're going to keep the same plan. We're going east."

"Alright then. Let me know if things start… getting out of hand." Zach said.

"We'll do that." Kenny said.

"Anyway, if you can tell Clementine, we would really appreciate it." Katjaa said.

"Okay." Zach said. He looked back to the sofa where the girl was and he immediately felt sympathetic for her. She was curled up in a ball with her lion plush toy in one hand while the other was in her mouth. She was sucking her thumb. He approached her as her eyes kept staring at the ground. She was distant.

Zach leaned over and picked up the girl. She released a whimpering yelp, but Zach was able to calm her down. "Sh… it's okay baby girl. I got you." He sat down on the sofa with the child in his arms. She was no longer sucking her thumb, but she was still staring blankly.

Natalie sat down next to him and said, "You really should take it easy."

"Trust me. I'm okay." Zach said. He adjusted his gaze to the girl in his arms before he started to scratch her back. It was a tactic that never failed. Zach would use it as a last resort or for an emergency. It would slowly put the girl to sleep especially when he was holding her. "You need to know something." Zach said to the girl.

"Hmm?" Clementine asked as her eyes started to shut.

"Duck is bitten." Zach said.

Her eyes shot opened and she looked up to Zach, "What?"

"Duck got bit back at the motor inn. Kat and Ken are going to keep an eye on him. Who knows Duck might be lucky and he might be immune to this whole thing." Zach said as he looked to both Natalie and Clementine. Natalie gave him a doubtful stare while the child laid her head on his chest. Zach sighed before he kissed the top of the girl's head. "Go to sleep, baby. You're safe."

"I… I love you, both of you." Clementine said with a tired voice.

"We love you, too." Natalie said with a sweet and kind voice. A final yawn escaped the girl's lips before she fell asleep.

A few minutes passed by until Zach felt deadweight on his shoulder as well. He looked over and noticed that Natalie was laying on his shoulder and was asleep. He smirked before his eyes wandered throughout the RV. They eventually locked with Lilly's. He didn't know what to feel with the woman. She nearly killed someone he loved and nearly got him killed, but at the same time, he felt that she was a victim in all of this. It WAS her fault for letting her rage and paranoia get the best of her, but the only reason she lashed out was to find the traitor who was working with the bandits.

Zach started to drift off as well. His body was exhausted especially with the whole scenario of having a traitor in the group and a gunshot wound to his side. His eyes closed as the RV continued its trip down the road.

**Hours Later**

Zach awoke upon hearing some mumbling from the little girl that he was holding. He looked down to the girl and said, "Sh… you're okay." He bobbed the girl in his arms until she looked up to him. His eyes widened upon seeing her. She was… her skin was pale and peeling, her eyes were milky white, and her kind, wonderful voice was replaced by a menacing growl. She lunged for him as he quickly placed his arm up to protect his neck from the girl biting down on it. Instead the girl was satisfied in biting into his arm.

Oddly enough, he didn't feel any pain from the walker girl biting down on his arm. He looked over upon hearing another moan and saw his girlfriend with identical features. She was a walker, too. "Shit!" Zach exclaimed as the woman lunged for his neck.

Zach woke up with a gasp and looked down to the little girl in his arms. She was perfectly healthy. He smiled upon seeing it was just a bad dream and he looked over to the woman that he had come to love. She was still asleep on his shoulder; she was also healthy.

He released a sigh of relief before he heard Kenny. "Got something up ahead."

Zach looked to the cab to get a look at what Kenny was talking about, but he could barely see anything. He looked back to Natalie and shook his shoulder to wake her. "Mmm… hmm…?" Natalie mumbled as she woke up.

"We got something up ahead." Zach whispered. "Can you hold Clem for me? She's still asleep."

"Yeah, of course." Natalie whispered. Zach got up from his seat and placed the sleeping girl in the woman's arm. Natalie cradled the sleeping child like a baby and looked back up to Zach. "I got her. Go help Ken." Zach nodded before he walked up to the cab.

"Now we got to deal with this." Kenny said as the RV started to slow down. Zach looked to the object that they were approaching and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was a train!

…**To be continued.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Okay, I got confused on Natalie's race… She looks somewhat like Clem in Season 2 except she's much older. So technically, she's African-American, but like Clem, she was Mixed early on in her life. Sorry if I confused you guys. I went on Clementine's wiki page recently and it showed that she was African-American, but I thought she was still Mixed. So my bad. I never really was good at ethnicity.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Kenny, Zach, Ben, and Carley approached the abandoned locomotive which was surrounded by several abandoned vehicles. There was no way for the RV to maneuver around the train. There were too many abandoned vehicles surrounding it. "Is there another way around?" Ben asked.

"On foot, maybe." Kenny said. "But we can't afford that luxury now."

"Well, all this brush will stop anything from creeping up on us." Carley said.

"Yeah, it'd be a really good idea for everyone to get out and stretch their legs." Zach said.

"Yeah, I want everybody out of the RV. I don't want folks trapped in there with HER." Kenny said in reference to Lilly. Zach and Carley nodded in agreement and left to retrieve the remaining group members.

Zach got inside the RV and walked up to Natalie and Clementine who had woken up. "Come on, we're going to go stretch our legs for a little while."

"I like the sounds of that." Natalie said. She got off the couch and stretched as Carley went over to Doug and Danielle. "Come on, Clem." Natalie said. The two left for the exit while Carley assured Danielle that she was safe.

"Baby, those bad people are not going to come and hurt us." Carley said to the child that remained on Doug's lap. She was unresponsive until Carley said, "They're far away right now. I don't think they have a vehicle. Now come." She offered her hand to the child and waited for her to slowly extend her hand out. Eventually, Danielle grabbed Carley's hand. Carley helped the child down from Doug's lap and the two went for the door to the trailer.

Doug got up and smiled to the woman and child as they left. They were his world. Zach knew it; he knew that he had the same look but with Natalie and Clementine. Upon seeing them leave, Doug turned to Zach and said, "Are you okay? Were you shot last night?"

"Yeah, I was." Zach said as he sent a glare towards Lilly. She looked away from his glare as Zach sighed. He shook his head and said, "Come on. Let's head outside."

The two men exited the RV and looked over to see Natalie, Clementine, Danielle, and Carley sitting on a nearby log. Katjaa was sitting on a stump of a tree with Duck in her arms. Duck was pale and his breathing was hoarse. "Is Duck feeling alright?" Doug asked.

"It doesn't look like it." Zach said.

"Hmm… poor kid. I hate getting sick myself." Doug said. His eyes turned to the train and his eyes widened. A smile took the place of his frown. "Hey now, that's a diesel locomotive." Doug said as he walked up to the train.

"Do you know anything about this thing, Doug?" Kenny asked.

"Definitely. I might be able to get her moving." Doug said.

"Hey, that'd be great." Kenny said.

Doug nodded as he looked over the train. He turned back to Zach and said, "Zach, how about you come with me, just in case there are any walkers."

"You got it." Zach said. The two men approached the train as the group watched on. Zach took the lead while Doug looked around. "Dammit… there's one in the cab." Zach said as the two men approached the cab of the train.

"What do you need me to do?" Doug asked.

"Just stay back." Zach said as he drew his revolver and turned it around so the butt of the revolver would be used. Zach knew that his katana was no good in tight spaces which was why he was going to use the revolver. He opened the cab door and raised the revolver to strike at the corpse that was in the driver's seat. He took one swing with his revolver and hit the back of the walker's head. It fell over with no response as both men breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, let's check it over." Zach said as he pulled the corpse out of the driver's seat.

Zach and Doug looked over the man and saw that his skull was severely caved in, and he was almost indistinguishable by the dried up blood on his face. They looked up to see a tree branch sticking through the window. Dried blood splattered across the cracked windshield which made both men feel uneasy. "I don't think this guy came back." Doug said.

"No, he didn't." Zach said. He approached the body and bent down to drag the corpse out of the cab. He groaned and started to drag the corpse of the man to the front door of the train. He was finally able to drag the corpse outside and he threw it off the train. Zach was slightly disgusted by the gruesome task until he heard a loud noise which startled him. It sound of steam being depressed from the large train. He went back inside and asked, "Doug, everything alright?"

"Totally." Doug said. "It was just the breaks."

Kenny and Ben entered the large cab with both having surprised and excited expressions. "Holy shit. This hunk of junk works?" Kenny exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think I can actually get it started." Doug said.

"Good, man, it's a good thing you're here, Doug." Kenny said. Doug smiled to the older man before he turned around and started to mess with the controls. Kenny turned to Ben and said, "Ben, if you could keep an eye on the girls and Duck, I would really appreciate it." Ben looked down with a frown before he exited the cab.

Kenny looked over the multiple levers on the train. He must have been searching for the correct lever to get the train going. "Hey Ken." Zach said to the older man. He looked up to Zach and Zach continued, "We still need to figure out what to do with Lilly."

"We wouldn't be having this discussion if we did what I wanted to do last night. She's too dangerous." Kenny said.

"We can't just leave someone on the side of the road like that." Zach said.

"He's right." Doug said as he continued to analyze the train's controls. "It's inhumane. She may deserve it, but… we don't need to sink that low."

Kenny grumbled in response and said, "Fine. What did you have in mind?" Kenny asked.

"I'm going to give her some supplies. Food, medicine, clean water, and a knife, then she's on her way. I'm definitely not going to give her a gun." Zach said.

"Sounds like a plan." Kenny said.

Zach nodded his head and walked out of the cab. He walked over to the RV about to enter until the vehicle suddenly moved. "Shit!" Zach exclaimed as the RV backed away from him.

"Holy shit! She's stealing the RV!" Kenny exclaimed. He ran to get off the train as Zach continued to run for the door. They both chased after Lilly as she ran off with the vehicle. "Get back here you crazy bitch! F*** stop!" Kenny exclaimed, but it was too late. Lilly had left with the RV which had most of their supplies in it.

Both men huffed as the RV disappeared in the distance. "I can't believe she did this. Next time we see her, we kill her." Zach said with an angry tone in his voice. "She screwed us!"

"Yeah, now we're f****** if we can't get this train working!" Kenny exclaimed. He looked over to Duck with sympathetic eyes. Zach also noticed the boy's condition was worsening. His skin was becoming paler by the minute. Kenny turned back to Zach and said, "Duck is still sick you know. We need to get down to the coast where it's safe."

"How's Doug doing with that train?" Zach asked. Suddenly, both men heard a loud noise from the train.

"Well, son of a bitch. He got it working. We're golden!" Kenny said as a smirk formed on his lips. He ran for the train while Zach smiled. Finally, something was going right. He followed Kenny and the three men entered the cab. "Alright, let's get this thing moving. He pushed one of the levers forward and the train started to move.

"Good work, Doug." Zach said. However, before the stocky nerd could reply, the train suddenly came to a stop.

"What happened?" Doug asked as he looked over the controls.

"We must be stuck to that wreck back there. Can you go get us unstuck?" Kenny said to Zach.

"Yeah, I'm on it." Zach said and he left the cab. He walked down from the train and walked over to the group. "Everything alright?" Zach asked Clementine.

The five year old looked down with a frown and said, "Why did Lilly steal from us?"

"I don't know… but don't worry. We'll be okay." Zach said. "Do you still have your lion?" Zach's frown turned to a smirk.

Clementine returned the smirk and said, "Yup."

"Are you holding up okay?" Natalie asked Zach.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not as sore as I was last night. Thanks again." Zach said.

"No, thank you. I would have died back there if you hadn't taken that bullet for me. Lilly would have killed me." Natalie said.

Zach nodded to his girlfriend and shifted his focus to Carley and Danielle. He noticed that the girl was drawing with a shaky hand. "Dani, honey, are you okay?" Zach asked.

Danielle looked up to him with her big brown eyes. She went to speak, but nothing came out. She looked back down at her drawing and continued. "It's okay, honey." Carley said as she placed a comforting hand around the girl. The girl seemed to relax from Carley's comforting hand. Carley looked to Zach and said, "I think she's just a little on edge from what happened yesterday."

"Yeah, I bet." Zach said. He turned his gaze to Katjaa and Duck and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you or Duck?"

Katjaa looked down to Duck and said, "Do you happen to have any water? I think Duck is dehydrated." Katjaa said.

"Yeah." Zach said as he walked over to the two. He removed his backpack and rummaged through it until he pulled out a water bottle. "Okay, Duck… here we go." Zach said as he opened the water bottle. He tilted the boy's head back before he tilted the water bottle towards his mouth. The boy received a few sips of water before he closed his mouth indicating that he was satisfied.

Zach closed up the lid to the water bottle as Katjaa placed Duck's head against her shoulder. "Thank you, Zach." Katjaa said.

"No problem." Zach said. He placed the water bottle next to Katjaa and said, "Keep that. I'm going to go check out the train." He stood upright and walked over to the train while he kept thinking of Duck. The boy didn't have much left in him and Kenny would have to accept the fact that Duck wasn't going to make it.

He climbed up into the first boxcar and noticed that it had some torn up furniture and cardboard boxes. Someone was living here. Zach shook his head and moved on to the other side of the boxcar. He jumped down from it and walked toward the wreck. The locomotive and the first boxcar were the only things that had come out of the wreck unscathed. He walked over to the train coupling. He manually removed the link and analyzed the device for any other attachments to the wreck. Upon seeing none, he turned around and exclaimed, "Ken, we're loose!"

He walked back into the boxcar and headed for the group. However, he looked to the roughly made living quarters. It seemed too recently used to be abandoned. "You touch any of my stuff?" Zach heard from behind him. He turned to see an older man with his clothing in tatters. He approached Zach with a menacing stare. The unknown man backed Zach into a corner waiting for his response.

"No, I didn't touch anything." Zach said.

The unknown man smiled and said, "Good thing too. I might had to hurt you if you did."

"Yeah… you're kind of creeping me out." Zach said.

"Train folk'll do that." The older man said as he relaxed. "Well, it's no worse for wear." He looked to the furniture and cardboard. "The name's Chuck, Charles if you're fancy."

"I'm Zach." Zach said.

"Is that your crew outside?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah." Zach replied.

"And those guys in the cab?" Chuck asked.

"Them too." Zach said.

"Quite a big group if I do say so myself." Chuck said. "I met them outside. They all warmed up nicely to me in direct sunlight." He walked towards the group and he jumped down from the boxcar.

Zach followed him and he returned to the group with Doug coming down from the train. "So you met Chuck?" Doug chuckled.

"Yeah, scared the living shit out of me." Zach said which made Doug laugh. "Where did he learn to be such a ninja?"

"I don't know." Doug said.

The two men approached the group as Clementine got up and walked over to Zach. "You met Chuck." Clementine said to Zach.

"Yeah, I did." Zach said as Doug continued to walk over to Danielle and Carley.

"He gave us candy… Ben too." Clementine said. Zach smirked before he looked over to Ben who was actually eating from a box of candy.

Zach looked back to Chuck and said, "Welcome."

"Thank ya." Chuck said.

Kenny approached the group upon noticing the new addition as Katjaa said, "It's so nice to see someone normal for once."

"How about we, uh, hold up on-" Kenny said with a skeptic look aimed at Chuck.

"Stay with us for a while. We'd really like the company." Carley said. Chuck nodded in response with a smile aimed at Danielle.

"She your little one." Chuck asked.

"Not quite. It was just her and her mother at the beginning of all of this. Her mother was killed by some psycho." Doug explained. "Carley and I are trying our best to look after her right now.

Chuck wore a remorseful stare and said, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. The world has gotten to be rougher than it used to be."

"Yeah, it has." Zach said. He looked over to Kenny and said, "Hey Ken, we're good to go."

"Good, the faster we get going, the better." Kenny said. He looked to the entire group and announced, "We don't got much, but pack up what we do have. We're heading out."

He left for the train with the rest of the group members following him. Ben, Doug, Carley, and Danielle headed for the boxcar while the remaining members walked up to Zach and Kenny.

"You want a ride?" Kenny asked Chuck.

"Well it sounds like you're taking my home." Chuck said.

"So that's a yes then?" Kenny asked.

"I can't think of any better way to keep them creepy-crawlies away, but with that boxcar." Chuck said before he walked over to get inside the boxcar.

Clementine and Natalie were the next ones to walk up to Kenny and Zach. Clementine lowered her head and said, "Duck's sick."

"Get on the train, Clementine." Kenny snapped. Natalie shot a glare at Kenny for being hostile to the girl before she picked up the child and walked toward the boxcar.

"And he's getting sicker." Katjaa said. It was true. Duck looked deathly pale at this point and his breathing was noticeably loud.

"Let me take look at him." Kenny said. He walked over to look at the boy; however, he shuttered upon seeing his face.

"Ken, we tried, but Duck is not getting any better. You know he's dying." Zach said.

"We don't know shit! You said so last night!" Kenny exclaimed as he sent a scowl toward Zach.

"Look at him Kenny!" Zach exclaimed.

"No f*** off! Just get in the train!" Kenny snapped. He walked away from the two and headed for the cab of the train.

Zach huffed before he looked up to Katjaa. "Come on, let's get inside." Zach said. Katjaa nodded and the two walked up to the boxcar. Doug and Carley helped Katjaa get on board and soon the train started to leave. Zach joined Natalie and the two looked over to Duck and Katjaa. Clementine and Danielle were drawing with Doug and Carley watching them, Ben was over by the corner looking out into the landscape, and Chuck was standing by looking at Duck.

**Hours Later**

Duck's raspy breathing and the train's movements filled the air as Zach and Chuck looked out into the scenic landscape.

"Can't be easy on y'all. Six adults looking after four kids." Chuck said. He turned his head to Ben and said, "I don't mean any disrespect, son."

"There were more of us." Zach said.

"Dead get them?" Chuck asked.

"No." Zach replied.

"Ah…living got them." Chuck concluded.

Suddenly, Duck started up a series of violent coughs which got Zach's attention. He walked over to the young boy and noticed that he had coughed up more blood. He was getting worse by the minute. "Can you get that off his face, please? My hands are full." Katjaa said.

"Of course." Zach replied and he picked up the towel that they were using to wipe off any traces of blood from around his mouth. Zach pulled away the towel and noticed that the blood had a dark red hue.

"He's out of time. You need to get Ken to stop this train." Katjaa said.

"I'll try." Zach replied. He went for the door of the boxcar and navigated his way to the cab of the train. He gripped the rail of the train and slowly made his way to the cab. He entered the cab with Kenny in the driver's seat. "You need to stop the train."

Kenny continued to look out the window and ignored Zach's comment. Zach sighed and said, "Look I know this isn't easy for you, but your son is not going to make it."

Kenny grumbled under his breath and asked, "What is the f****** deal? He's a little sick, but we can't just quit." Kenny looked to Zach with a scowl as he continued. "It's just a scratch. He's not like the others. Dammit, all y'all are just making it worse."

"You're in denial." Zach said. "Look Ken, I went through the same shit you're going through. Hell, I had to put my own wife down. You need to stop this train for your son."

"You've given up on him! Just like you give up on everyone!" Kenny exclaimed.

"STOP THIS DAMN TRAIN!" Zach bellowed.

"F*** you Zach." Kenny spat.

"You're going to listen to me." Zach said.

"Or what?" Kenny asked as he got up and stared Zach down.

"Or I'm going to kick your ass and I'll stop the train myself. And in that situation, no one's happy." Zach said as he stared Kenny down.

"You think just because you're some tough little shit that you can boss people around?" Kenny said.

"That has nothing to do with this!" Zach exclaimed. "I'm here because your son needs you, your wife needs you! You need to step up and accept that Duck is gone! He is dying back there and he needs you now more than ever."

Kenny visibly back down and sat back down in the driver's seat. "I can't… I can't do this…" Kenny said.

Zach huffed to release any anger that he was holding and said, "You think this is your fault, like you had this coming or something?" Kenny didn't reply and instead Zach had to continue. "You didn't kill Herschel's son."

"Yes… I did, and now, it's catching up to me." Kenny said. His voice was starting to crack and he seemed ready to give up.

"That's not what went down. You looked after your boy, a bad thing happened to someone else's." Zach said.

"There's no way this world will let my son live. Not when I put someone else's in the ground." Kenny said.

"That's not how things work. You know that." Zach said. He placed a comforting hand on Kenny's shoulder and said, "Stop the train, man."

Kenny looked back to Zach and sent him a saddened stare before he pulled the throttle to stop the locomotive. The brakes started to squeal and the train started to slow down. The train finally came to a halt. Kenny got up, and he and Zach exiting the train. The two looked over to the group who had exited the boxcar. The two men approached Katjaa as she tried to comfort Duck.

Katjaa looked over to the two men and said, "Ken, I… I think it's time."

Kenny looked at Duck for a second with a saddened look before he turned to everyone else. "The boy's been bit, in case any of you haven't figured it out yet." Kenny looked back to his wife and asked, "What are we going to do?"

Katjaa looked at her son and said, "I… Oh this impossible… but we can't let him become one of those things."

"But what if he doesn't?" Kenny asked hoping that his son would be different and not die.

"Kenny, I love you very much. I love our son more than life itself." Katjaa said as her voice started to crack and tears formed in her eyes. "I need you to hear me. What you are saying that he may not turn is foolish."

"But I-" Kenny started to say but Katjaa interrupted him.

"No." Katjaa said.

Come on Kat!" Kenny said.

"If you think of something, you let me know." Katjaa said.

"Maybe there's some kind of pill we can give him or something. I mean, Katjaa, this is our son!" Kenny exclaimed.

"I know!" Katjaa exclaimed. "But it's either here or nothing." Katjaa placed her index finger to her head with her thumb up in a gesture that they would have to shoot him to prevent him from coming back as a walker.

"Well who then?" Kenny asked overwhelmed by the subject of their conversation. "I can do it. I have to do it."

"No, Ken this something you can't do." Katjaa said.

"Shit, Katjaa, I can." Kenny said. "I can do this."

"You can't. I love you very much, Kenny, but this is beyond you." Katjaa said.

"I'll do it." Zach said with a solemn voice.

"No, it should be a parent." Katjaa said.

"No parent should ever have to do something like this." Zach said.

"Kat, Zach's right. We can say our good-byes and leave it at that." Kenny said.

Katjaa looked at Duck and said, "Zach, you would be doing this family a great service if you do this." She then picked Duck up and said, "Let's go in the woods so the kids don't have to see this." Kenny nodded and the two went into the woods.

Zach watched them leave with a saddened look until he heard Clementine. "What's happening?" The young girl asked.

Zach crouched down to her eye level and said, "Duck's dying."

"I know…" Clementine said with a frown forming on her lips. "Wh-What are you going to do?"

"I'm… going to put him out of his misery." Zach said.

"Oh…" Clementine said as she looked down.

"Listen Clem, things will-" Zach said, but he was interrupted by a loud boom followed by Kenny's loud voice.

"What the…?" Zach said as he looked off to the direction of the loud boom. He looked over to Natalie and said, "Natalie, keep Clem safe. I'm going to go check that out."

"You got it." Natalie said.

Zach nodded and ran off to the direction of the loud boom. He ran through the forest as fast as he could until he spotted a clearing. He entered the clearing and was surprised by what he saw. Duck was seated at the base of a tree.

"KAT, KAT, KATJAA!" Kenny exclaimed. Zach looked over to Kenny and saw him knelt down on top of Katjaa who was unresponsive. There was a bullet wound to her head and a gun in her hand.

"Holy shit." Zach muttered.

"She… she had a… I…" Kenny stuttered as he continued to cry over his wife's suicide. Zach looked to the woman with remorse in his eyes. He couldn't imagine the pain that she went through in the last few hours. Having her own child slowly dying on her lap must have been heartbreaking for her. Zach would have done the same if it was Clementine or Natalie. He would have to make sure that they would stay close to him at all times.

Kenny got back up and looked to his dying son as Zach got out of his daze. He walked up to Kenny and the two looked down to Duck. "What are we going to do?" Kenny asked.

"Give me the gun, Ken." Zach said. "I'll handle this.

Kenny shoved the gun into Zach's hand as he kept his tearful eyes on Duck. Zach raised the gun to the boy's head and said, "Good bye Robin." Zach then fired the gun which ended the young boy's misery. He looked over to Kenny who still had tears streaming down his face and said, "Come on. Let's get back to the train." He started to walk away from Duck's and Katjaa's bodies. Kenny hesitantly followed and the two headed for the train where the rest of the group was.

* * *

The train was going again at full speed again. Hopefully, things would look up for the group again. Zach entered the boxcar after looking after Kenny for a few minutes. He walked over to where Clementine and Natalie were and sat down next to them. They were rather silent for a couple of seconds until Zach said, "When you're old enough to hold a gun, I'm going to teach you how to shoot, but right now, you're still too little." Zach said to Clementine.

The girl nodded to him and asked, "Katjaa and Duck are in Heaven now, right?"

"That's right, baby. They're in Heaven, now." Zach said as he picked her up and placed her on his lap. She smiled up to Zach before she snuggled up against his body. "Man, today's been a long day."

"You can say that again." Natalie said. "My gosh, poor Kat. I couldn't imagine going through that." She looked to Zach and said, "Promise me if something like that happens that you won't leave me by myself to deal with it. I know that really affected Kenny, but I don't think I would be strong enough to go through what Katjaa went through."

"I promise." Zach said. The two then picked up on snoring which came from Doug. They looked over to see him, Carley, and Danielle asleep on the mattress.

"Carley and Doug didn't get much sleep last night." Natalie said. "Danielle woke up with nightmares every couple hours."

"Damn, that's gotta be rough." Zach said. He looked down when he noticed that the little girl on his lap felt more like deadweight and smiled. "I guess someone was tired."

Natalie smirked and said, "It's normal. Children under six usually need a nap at around this time. And besides, I think we're all exhausted from the whole ordeal with Duck."

"Yeah. I'm just glad that her naps are becoming normal again. They used to be really long." Zach said.

"Yeah…" Natalie said. She grimaced from remembering the motor inn and said, "I still feel bad for taking from that Volkswagen, but without the food, we wouldn't have lasted this long." Zach nodded before he looked down to the resting five year old on his lap. "So what exactly do you mean when you said when she's old enough to handle a gun?" Natalie asked.

Zach turned to her and said, "When her fingers have grown long enough to reach the trigger while being able to handle a gun properly. Maybe eight or nine."

Natalie shook her head and said, "No, that's way too young."

"We can't treat her like a baby forever. Nothing else will change. She'll just be learning something new. She'll still be our little girl." Zach said.

Natalie looked down with a frown and said, "I don't like this."

"I know, but we have to do this. This world is too unforgiving." Zach said. "I don't want her to end up like Duck."

"You're right." Natalie said. "The last thing I ever want to happen to her is for her to die."

Zach nodded and looked to the wall. The day had been long and rough. He sought rest and allowed his eyes to close.

**Minutes Later**

"Oh shit! Hold on everyone!" Zach awoken to Kenny's yell from the PA on the train and went to reach for the doorway of the boxcar, but he didn't reach it in time. He and Natalie were flung against the wall of the boxcar. They both yelped upon hitting it while Clementine remained unharmed since she was on Zach's lap. The train finally screeched to a halt. Clementine got up from Zach's lap and watched Zach and Natalie get up.

"Ow, what was that?" Natalie whined.

"Dammit Kenny. I'm going kick his ass." Zach said.

"Swear." Clementine said. She had gotten in the habit of correcting Zach anytime he swore in front of her.

"Sorry." Zach said to the girl. He turned to Doug, Carley, and Danielle who were getting off the ground. "You guys alright over there?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Carley said.

"We should go see what's up." Doug said as he headed over to the door of the boxcar. Carley, Zach, Natalie, Danielle, and Clementine followed him and they descended down from the boxcar. The group looked over to see that one of the tankers from a semi-truck was now blocking the way. "Well now, that's going to complicate things." Doug remarked.

Zach looked over and noticed Kenny. The man didn't look right. He had his fist balled up tightly and his body shook. "Carley, cover Dani's ears." Zach said as he covered up Clementine's ears. Carley did the same, and soon after, Kenny shot out a string of f-bombs.

"Maybe we can walk?" Ben suggested.

"That's f****** stupid, Ben." Kenny criticized.

"Alright." Zach said to Carley. Both adults uncovered the girls' ears before they looked over to Kenny.

"I was just saying." Ben said.

Chuck walked over and assessed the situation with the dangling tanker. "Hmm… I don't know. I don't got much experience with y'all's fortitude but we could probably deal that. I mean, we got a damn train." Chuck said.

"That trailer isn't full of milk, Charles." Kenny said. "It's filled with gas and diesel, something that will explode."

"He's right." Carley said. "I don't want to get blown apart."

"Hmm… perhaps there's a blowtorch in that station. If there is, we can use it to cut down that tanker and be on our way." Doug said as he gestured to the nearby train station.

"Sounds like a plan." Kenny said. He went back to the train and slammed the cab door shut.

"He's in a real dark place right now." Natalie said.

"Yeah, but he'll pull through. He's pretty tough." Zach said.

"I hope you're right." Doug said. "I can't imagine what he's going through. I don't know where I'd be without my wife or Dani." He sent a smile to both before the group of six started to hear Chuck playing on his guitar. Both girls looked over to him and walked over to listen to him strum away.

"I'll take watch." Carley said. She walked over to the boxcar leaving the three adults.

"How about you two watch the kids. I'm going to go and check out that station." Zach said.

"You sure you don't need help?" Natalie said.

"No, I got it." Zach said.

"Alright, just come get us if you need help." Doug said. He and Natalie walked over to Clementine and Danielle as Zach turned to the station.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: There aren't too many time gaps in the next few episodes, so I hope you guys won't mind if I merge Episodes 3-5 together. RIP Katjaa and Duck.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

"Hey Zach, can I talk to you for a second?" Zach turned his head to see Ben looking at him with a bit of a frightened stare.

"Sure, kid. What's up?" Zach asked.

Ben looked away from Zach and muttered something that Zach couldn't hear. "I couldn't hear you." Zach said. "What'd you say?"

Ben looked up with a remorseful stare and said, "It was me… I was the one giving the bandits supplies back at the motor inn." Zach was shocked by Ben's confession. It left him speechless. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "It's all my fault."

"Why? Why the heck would you do this?" Zach asked with a furious tone behind his voice.

"They said that they had my friend… that he was with them. By the time I figured it out, it was too late. I'm sorry, Zach." Ben said.

Zach walked away from the teenager and huffed. He was pacing in a straight line which made the boy nervous. "Okay." Zach said as he stopped and looked up to Ben. "Did you ever think about talking to me or Kenny about this? I mean did you even think about the ramifications of this?"

"I… no…" Ben said. He was clearly frightened by the way Zach was acting.

"Look, Ben… part of me wants to thank you. You bought us time back there. You kept those bandits off our backs for a few days, but… why didn't you tell one of us?" Zach said. "We could have gotten out of there before they attacked us and then Katjaa and Duck would be alive!"

"I know. I'm sorry." Ben said.

Zach sighed and said, "Look, just… don't tell anyone else, especially Kenny." Ben nodded with fear still in his eyes. Zach turned to the station and said, "I'm going to go check out that station. You make sure that you say nothing of this to anyone. The last thing we need is to tear each other apart." Ben nodded again before Zach started to walk toward the station. "What a day." Zach muttered as he walked away from Ben.

* * *

Zach approached the station door and tried to open it. However, the door was locked. Zach sighed and said, "Alright. I guess brute strength will work." Zach backed away from the door and rammed it with his shoulder. "Gah!" Zach shouted out in pain as he fell back from slamming into the door. However, the door had taken damage which was indicated by the large crack on it. Zach huffed and said, "I'm not doing that again." He got back up and kicked the door which made the crack larger. Finally, he kicked it one last time and managed to break the door in half.

"Well, that was fun." Zach muttered. However, he looked up upon hearing moaning. It came from a couple of walkers that were inside the station. He whistled for them and teased them by saying, "Come here. Fresh meat waiting to be eaten." He pulled out his katana and waited for the limping horrors to come out of the station and into the sunlight. Zach needed space to swing his katana and it helped to see where he was swinging the blade. The walkers finally limp out of the station and Zach managed to stab one in the head and killed the second one with a slash. He sheathed his katana and searched the two bodies. He didn't find much except for a key. "Just my luck, I bet this is the key to get inside."

Zach grumbled under his breath and entered the station. "Perfect, this place looks like a death trap." He looked around the station in hopes of finding something to cut the tanker from the rest of the truck. His eyes stopped upon seeing a blowtorch behind a gate which separated the room into two sections. He went to the gate door and tried to open it, but it was locked. "Hmm… no way I can smash through it like that wooden door, but maybe… maybe this key will work here." Zach said to himself. He placed the key into the keyhole and turned it to hear a satisfying click sound. "Finally, our luck is turning around." Zach said. He opened the door and went for the blowtorch, but he then heard the infamous growl of a walker.

"Of course. That would have been too easy." Zach muttered as he unsheathed his katana. The walker growled and tried to charge at Zach, but the marine thrusted his blade into the walker's skull. He pulled out his blade and the walker fell to the ground. He sheathed his katana and retrieved the blowtorch. He grunted from the weight of the heavy object and started hauling it back to the train.

* * *

Zach approached the train with the blowtorch in hand. It was quite heavy for its size, but the marine managed. "Hey Doug. Let's go up top." Zach said.

The stocky man turned around and smiled upon seeing his friend return with the blowtorch. "Good job on getting the blowtorch. I'm interested to see the results." Doug said as he approached Zach.

Zach nodded and headed up the ladder to where the semi-truck was. He grunted and huffed from each step. The blowtorch's weight was starting to tire him, but Zach had reached this point countless times in boot camp and had managed. He reached the top and placed the blowtorch down next to the semi-truck trailer.

Doug joined Zach as he started up the blowtorch, but it didn't produce any flames.

"What's up?" Doug asked.

"The hose has a leak in it." Zach replied.

"Shit! Turn it off! I don't want to lose my eyebrows!" Doug exclaimed. Zach quickly turned the knob and sighed. However, Doug was looking though his backpack and said, "Here, I always keep some around." In his hand was duct tape.

"It solves all the world's problems." Zach said as he took the duct tape and applied it to the hole in the hose.

"So the world thinks." Doug said. "But it will be enough to help us in this particular situation."

Zach finished applying the duct tape and started up the blowtorch again. This time a flame came out of the nozzle. Zach turned to the trailer and started to cut the dangling tanker from the rest of the truck.

"Wow, look at it go!" Doug exclaimed as the blowtorch kept cutting through the coupling.

"Almost got it." Zach said. However, he was suddenly grabbed from around his waist and pulled back from the trailer. He looked to see that the semi-truck had moved and was now where he was. "Whoa, thanks Doug." Zach said as he got back up

"No sweat." Doug replied.

Zach went over and observed the coupling. "It's holding on by a thread. All that is needed is a small cut and it will go." Zach turned to Doug and said, "Here, the coupling is out of my reach." He handed the handle of the blowtorch to Doug.

"And for some reason, you think it will be in mine." Doug said.

"No, but I'm going to dangle you over that ledge so you can finish the cut." Zach retorted.

"Um… no, I don't think so." Doug said.

"It wasn't an offer." Zach said with a smirk. He started up the blowtorch again and dragged Doug over to the edge. Zach then dangled Doug from the platform and the stocky man began to cut through the coupling with the blowtorch.

"This sucks." Doug said.

"Could be worse." Zach said.

Suddenly both men could hear several faint growls in the distance. "Guys, we got to go, now!" Carley exclaimed below. Zach looked down to see everyone going for the boxcar. He then looked up and saw hundreds, maybe even thousands of walkers heading for the train.

"Holy shit." Doug muttered.

"Doug, cut, cut!" Zach exclaimed.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Doug said. The coupling was giving way and Doug said, "I'm done; pull me up!"

Zach obliged and pulled him up as the trailer hit the ground and fell out of the way for the train to move. "Kenny, go!" Zach shouted and the train started to move.

As the train moved, Zach kicked the blowtorch off of the ledge. It landed on the ground and instantly started a fire below. "That ought to slow them down." Zach said.

"Holy crap." Doug said as he looked to the herd with pure terror in his eyes.

"Doug come on. We gotta move." Zach said. The two men ran toward the opposite side of the bridge and got over the guard rail. "We have to jump."

"What? No way. What if one of us fell and got injured?" Doug asked.

"Think about Carley and Danielle. They don't want to be separated from you." Zach said to encourage Doug to jump.

Doug huffed and said, "You're right." Without another word, Doug jumped down onto the train, but he cried out in pain.

"Shit." Zach muttered. He allowed himself to fall onto the train as well, but he was fortunate enough to land without too much pain. He went for the door way to the boxcar and jumped down inside. Doug was limping to try and catch up with the train while Carley ran behind him. She must have gotten off the train to help him.

Zach helped Doug to get inside, and they both looked up to see Natalie help Carley inside. Doug and Carley breathed heavily as the two children watched on with horror in their eyes. "That was a lot of them." Doug huffed

"Yeah it was." Zach said.

"Are-Are you alright?" Danielle asked as she looked to her injured guardian.

Doug looked down to his wound and was sickened by what he saw. "Looks about as worse as it feels." Doug said. His shin was split open.

"Aw, Dougie… we can fix you up, right?" Carley said as she looked to Natalie for help.

"I'll do my best, but it might be best if the kids aren't around to see." Natalie said.

"I'll keep them busy." Zach said. He turned to Clementine and Danielle and asked, "How about you girls go to the cab with me and we'll make some get well cards for Doug."

"Will Doug be okay?" Danielle asked.

"Of course. He's in good hands. Natalie will get him back to being his normal self again." Zach said to the young girl.

"Dani, sweetheart, go with Zach. Dougie's strong. He'll be okay." Carley said.

"Okay." Danielle said with a smile. "Get well, Doug." Danielle said to the stocky man.

"I'll try." Doug said with a smirk forming on his lips. "I can't wait to see my get well cards that you and Clem will make."

The two girls smiled and nodded. They took Zach's hand and he led them to the cab.

**Early Next Morning**

Zach was staring out of the broken glass window of the train and saw the city of Savannah sitting on the horizon. He smiled upon seeing the city. Who knows? Maybe there are people in the city who could help him and his group out. He looked over to Clementine who was very much asleep. He looked at her backpack which had the drawing she was working on last night on the top of it. He got up and picked up the drawing. He wore a sad smile upon seeing that it was a drawing of Kenny, Duck, and Katjaa holding hands. Kenny came into the cab and Zach quickly put the picture in her backpack.

"Next stop, Savannah." Kenny said with satisfaction lacing his voice.

Zach got up and smiled at the older man. "I know you're going to be okay." Zach said.

"That's because I had a good friend to help me through this." Kenny replied. "Thanks pal. You helped me do the right thing yesterday. I would have never lived with myself if my boy had turned."

"We got to look out for each other." Zach said. "I know that you would have done the same if it was… reversed."

"Let's hope that we won't ever have to find out." Kenny said.

"So, how's Doug?" Zach asked.

"He's sleeping pretty soundly back there. Carley and Dani are sleeping next to him." Kenny said. "The wound still doesn't look that good, but Natalie's done all she could for it."

Suddenly, Clementine's radio came to life and Zach and Kenny looked over to the object in shock. Zach went over and picked it up as an unknown voice could be heard from the other end. "I can't wait for you to get to Savannah, Clementine. I have your parents, right here. All you have to do is come over whether Zach wants you to or not." Suddenly the voice stopped and the signal died out.

"What the f***?" Kenny asked.

"I don't know." Zach said with a glare forming on his features. "But whoever is on the other end of this radio will regret this."

"Just when I thought that things were finally looking up." Kenny said before he slumped in his chair. Zach clipped the radio on his belt and looked toward the city as well. He knew that things were about to get more complicated and more dangerous.

* * *

It was noon by the time that the group of nine people walked down the street of Savannah. They observed the empty street, most feeling some heavy tension and stress since the area seemed too quiet. Carley helped Doug to walk normally since he was still struggling with the pain in his shin.

"Can't I just hold it?" Zach heard from the girl that he was looking after. "I just want it for a little while." Clementine said. Her eyes were looking between him and the walkie-talkie. Zach was mentally kicking himself for not telling her what happened to her real parents.

"Maybe in a little bit, but not right now." Zach said.

The girl looked down with a frown and said, "Okay."

Zach looked over to Doug and then to Carley. "How's he holding up?" Zach asked.

Carley looked over to Doug who was huffing from trying to keep up with everyone while using only one leg and his wife as a crutch. "He needs to rest." Carley said.

"Yeah, you're right." Zach said. "Kenny, hold up a minute." However, Kenny ignored Zach's request and kept going.

"Kenny, come on now, hold up." Zach said. "Doug's not looking that good."

Kenny stopped as he mumbled under his breath. Carley and Zach helped Doug to sit down so he could catch his breath. "Thanks guys." Doug huffed.

"We're almost to the river, almost to the boats…" Kenny said with impatience and frustration lacing his voice.

"Then it won't hurt anything if Doug rests for a bit." Zach said. Kenny just rolled his eyes and looked down the street until the distinct, deep, and loud ring of a church bell could be heard. Everyone tensed up and looked around for the source as Carley helped Doug up and allowed herself to be used as a crutch again. "Calm down, no one is ringing that bell; it's on a timer." Kenny said.

"How can a bell ring on a timer when there's no electricity?" Zach asked. He then saw something out of the corner of his eye; it appeared to be a person who was on top of the roof. "Up there!" Zach exclaimed as he pointed to the roof. However, the figure was too agile and quick and was already gone by the time everyone else turned around to see what Zach was pointing at.

"I don't see anything, Zach." Ben said.

"Yeah, are you sure that you saw something?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. These eyes don't fail." Zach said while trying to get a better view.

Suddenly Clementine's radio came to life. "If I were you, I would get out of the street, now." The voice said from the other end.

"Wait a minute. Who was that?" Carley asked. She was surprised by the device coming to life with an unknown voice on the other end.

Zach picked up the radio and said, "Who is this?" There was no response. He furrowed his brow and said, "I promise you that screwing with us is a big mistake." Still no response. Zach huffed before he placed the walkie-talkie back on his belt.

The bell finally stopped ringing much to everyone's relief. "What was that? Was someone trying to screw with us?" Carley asked.

"It sounded more like a warning." Ben replied.

Chuck turned away from the group and said, "Ask not for whom the bell tolls."

"What are you yammering on about?" Kenny asked.

Chuck then extended his hand with the shovel out towards a small herd of walkers that were heading for the group and said, "It tolls for thee."

Everyone's eyes widened and Zach exclaimed, "Everybody run!" They scattered as Doug, Carley, and Danielle stuck close to Chuck. The two adults used their handguns while Chuck attacked with his shovel. Zach maintained a decent speed and drew his katana to cut down a couple of walkers in front of him. He stopped to see where his group was and looked down to see Clementine looking up to him. She gave a look of uncertainty as Kenny ran by.

Zach looked up to see Kenny shoot a walker and look for an opening to get to the river, but he was tripped up by another walker on the ground. Kenny fell and was out of reach from his gun. He tried to reach for his gun as the walker tried to bite down on his leg. "Kenny!" Zach exclaimed as he drew his revolver and fired a shot into the walker's skull.

"A little too close don't you think?" Kenny asked with grateful stare.

"Ben!" Clementine exclaimed. Zach looked over to see both her and Ben being surrounded by walkers. Natalie joined Zach and the two looked on horrified by the situation.

"No! Ben help her!" Natalie exclaimed but it was no use. Ben ran from the scene leaving Clementine to fend for herself.

"Dammit!" Zach muttered as he ran in slicing any of the walkers that came close to him. Meanwhile, Natalie shot walkers from a distance with her handgun. Zach slashed the final walker and sheathed his sword. He picked up the frightened girl and she clung onto him for dear life.

He ran past Natalie with Clementine in his arms. However, Zach could hear her footsteps following close behind him. It had to be Natalie.

The two rejoined Carley, Doug, Danielle, Kenny, and Ben. "Come on River Street is just up ahead!" Kenny exclaimed.

"That's not the only thing up ahead." Natalie retorted indicating to more walkers heading towards them.

"Oh give me a f****** break!" Kenny exclaimed.

Zach looked around the group and asked, "Wait, where's Chuck?"

Doug and Carley turned around to see that Chuck was struggling to kill walkers with his shovel. Everyone else looked over as well as Doug said, "He's in trouble. We have to help him."

Chuck must have noticed that everyone was waiting for him and he yelled, "I'll be fine; just go!"

No one wanted to leave the older man to deal with the herd, but with Doug's condition and with Zach carrying Clementine, they had to leave. They left the area and headed towards a mansion. They were able to go around and get inside the backyard which was behind a gate.

However in his haste, Doug tripped and his stitches opened up. He grunted in pain while Carley got down to check his leg. "Shit, you opened up your wound. You're bleeding everywhere." Carley then directed her attention to Zach as he placed Clementine on the ground. "We need to get him inside, quickly."

Zach nodded and ran to the door that Kenny was working on. "Kenny, how's that door coming?" Zach asked.

"I'm working on it. I'm working on it." Kenny said.

"Well work faster, we need to get in there. You know those things smell blood." Carley said.

"I'm going as fast as I can." Kenny said as he tried to break the door down. He huffed and said, "It's no use. This thing's locked down tight."

"Maybe there's another way in. What about the dog door?" Zach asked.

"There's a concept." Kenny said. He got down on the ground and tried push the dog door open. "The f***? This thing's locked too?"

"Hmm… interesting." Doug said. "That dog door must a self-locking dog door. Basically the dog wears a collar with a chip in it and the door will automatically unlock once the collar is nearby."

"Great…" Kenny muttered. "Every day's a school day."

"So all we need to do is find the dog, right?" Natalie asked as she tried to clean Doug's wound.

"Correct." Doug said. He hissed in pain and said, "However, we don't know where the dog is."

Zach looked around until he noticed a freshly dug grave and said, "I know where it is." He picked up a nearby shovel and headed over to where the grave was. All eyes followed him, including the girls' eyes. He walked up to the grave and was about to start digging until he heard Doug.

"Be careful man. Digging up dead things isn't what it used to be." Doug said.

"I hear you." Zach said. He planted the shovel into the dirt and started to dig up the grave.

"What's buried down there?" Clementine asked as she approached Zach.

"A dog if we're lucky." Zach said. "Um… could you stay over by Doug, Carley, and Natalie?"

"But I want to help." Clementine said.

Zach smiled to the girl and crouched down to her height. "I understand sweetheart, but this might be out of your league." Zach said.

She frowned but nodded. "Okay." The girl said

"Come here, Clem. Let Zach finish working." Natalie said. The young girl obliged and walked over to Natalie. Zach continued to dig at the grave until he hit the bottom and saw a decaying dog.

He squatted down and picked up the corpse by its collar. "Argh…I can't get it off." Zach said with disgust but then the head and the neck separated and the corpse fell back into the grave. The whole group groaned in disgust as an unpleasant smell filled the air.

"Okay that is not cool!" Ben exclaimed. Carley started dry heaving from the horrid smell.

Clementine looked over and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the smell." Carley said as she stood upright.

"I-I don't feel good." Danielle said. She was also overwhelmed by the foul odor, and she had her hands over her stomach.

"It's okay honey." Carley said as she knelt down to her height and hugged the girl. "You're okay." Carley said as she started to rub her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Doug asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Carley said.

Zach got back up with collar in hand and went over to the door. He put the collar up against the door and it automatically unlocked. "Yes! Holy shit!" Kenny shouted out in joy. Clementine, Ben, and Natalie walked over to join the two men.

Zach got down and tried to reach for the knob on the other side. However, he couldn't reach it. He got back up and said, "It's no good; I can't reach it."

"Here, let me try." Ben said as he approached the door but Clementine beat him to it. Out of nowhere, she crawled into the house.

Zach looked on with shock and worry in his eyes. "Clem, are you okay? Say something." Zach said. Everyone wore the same look of fear and concern as Zach until a couple of tense seconds later Clementine opened the door from the other side.

"Tada." The girl said with a proud smile.

Zach got down to her level and said, "Good job Clem, but give us a little warning next time you're going to shoot off like that."

Clementine looked down with a frown and said, "I thought I was helping."

"You were. You just had me worried." Zach said.

"Can we please finish this inside?" Doug asked. "My leg is starting to hurt like hell." With that everyone went inside with Carley helping Doug to get inside. Zach was the last to enter, but like everyone else he marveled at the large house and the strong defenses. Every window inside was barred up with wooden planks.

Carley helped Doug into another room where he yelled out in pain. "Urgh!" Doug exclaimed.

"Sorry." Carley apologized.

"No, don't worry about it. I feel better being off my feet. Thanks babe." Doug said.

Carley walked out of the living room and walked up to Kenny and Zach. "So when were you going to tell us about the radio?" Carley asked.

"Tell you what?" Kenny asked which resulted in a glare from Carley.

"Don't toy with us." Natalie said. "You two knew that there was someone on the other end of that radio and didn't tell us, why?"

"We were going to tell you. Kenny and I only found out this morning." Zach said in defense. This seemed to satisfy Carley and Natalie since they seemed to calm down.

"Besides, who gives a shit of the damn radio?" Kenny said. "I want to know who that asshole was that rang that bell and brought the dead on top of us. It's like they didn't want us to reach the river."

"What makes you think that the two aren't the same?" Carley asked. "Whoever came in on that radio was close enough to know what was happening, and we didn't see anyone else but that guy in the bell tower."

"Because that doesn't make a lick of damn sense." Kenny replied. "Why would they send the dead out like that and then try to warn us about it?"

"This guy on the radio is a threat. We need to eliminate him." Zach said.

"Or we need to get on a boat where he can't follow us." Kenny said.

"This place seems pretty defendable." Ben said as he approached the group.

"I agree." Kenny said. "Come on. You and I will check out the upstairs; Zach, you check downstairs." Zach nodded and watched Kenny and Ben walk away. Zach glared at Ben. First he got Duck and Katjaa killed and nearly got Natalie killed, and now he had abandoned a five year old in the middle of the street. It made his blood boil. He may be a teenager, but that doesn't excuse his actions.

"Do you need help?" Zach heard next to him. He looked to Clementine.

"Nah, I got it. Go ahead and relax with Natalie." Zach said with a smile. Clementine surprised him at times when it came to her maturity. She and Danielle were both above mature for their ages.

Zach went to investigate the house, but Clementine stopped him. "Zach, I'm sorry." Clementine said.

"What?" Zach asked. He was confused by the girl's sudden apology. "Sorry for what?" Zach asked with confusion lacing his voice.

"For going inside without asking first." Clementine said with a frown. "I guess that was pretty dumb."

"Nah, just give us some heads up next time before you go and outsmart all of the adults." Zach said as he placed a hand on her head and bobbed her head from side to side.

Clementine giggled in response and said, "Okay." Zach rested his arm down to his side as the girl walked into the living room. Zach turned to the kitchen and started rummage through the drawers and cupboards. Not even the sink was working, but it was probably a good thing that it wasn't. Who knew how contaminated the water supply was?

He left for the dining room and noticed luxury items like a grandfather clock and a fancy dining table. He smirked upon seeing some alcohol on the table and picked it up. He took a sniff and said, "I guess a little wouldn't hurt." He took a quick sip and immediately regretted it. He started coughing from the high concentration of the alcohol which caught everyone's attention in the living room.

"You alright?" Natalie asked as she ran into the dining room.

Zach huffed and looked at the bottle. "Man… these people loved their alcohol strong." Zach said.

Natalie smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "I think you should probably stick to the Shirley Temples, tough guy." Natalie joked.

Zach laughed and said, "No, I'm serious. This stuff is hardcore. You wouldn't need too many drinks from this to get drunk."

Natalie giggled in response while shaking her head. "How about you stay frosty for now." Natalie said.

"Nah forget it. I'm not much of a drinker anyway. The most I ever drank was on my twenty-first birthday." Zach said.

"Same here." Natalie said. "I hate the taste of alcohol." Zach smiled to her before he leaned in and kissed her. She returned the kiss and the two shared the intimate moment. It was quite relaxing and soothing until they heard Clementine.

"Carley, what's Zach and Natalie doing?" Clementine asked.

"Whoa, save it for later when the kids aren't around!" Carley exclaimed. Zach and Natalie immediately separated and both shared a blush. "Natalie, get back in here and play with Clem. Zach, you still have rooms to check. Go check them." Carley said in a stern voice.

"Hmm… funny, I didn't crack down on you and Doug when you two were making out." Zach said with a smirk.

"Hush, Zachary." Carley said as her face started to blush. She turned away from him as he wore a victorious smile. Usually, he would correct someone for using his full name, but he made an exception when he gave someone a hard time.

"He's got a point, dear. Heck, I think we were worse." Doug said.

"Dougie, please shut up." Carley said as her face got redder from embarrassment. Natalie wore a smirk as she walked back to the living room.

Zach chuckled as he approached his first door. He pulled out his revolver with his right hand and pulled the door back with his left. He aimed the gun around the small room to see only a small restroom inside. It was very empty with no toiletries or other supplies inside He closed the door and made his way to another door. Once again, he pulled back on the door and looked inside to see a small closet. Like the bathroom, there was nothing inside except for a lonely hanger. Zach closed the door and turned to the group.

"So far so good." Zach said.

"That's good." Carley said. Doug was resting on the couch with all eyes on him.

"Is Dougie going to be okay?" Danielle asked.

"I'm sure he will sweetie. He's just tired right now." Carley said. However, the worry in the child's eyes remained and she looked to the man who had come to be a father figure to her. Carley turned to Zach and said, "Can I talk to you for a minute, alone?"

"Sure." Zach said.

They walked away from the living room and headed to the dining room. Carley looked to him with concern in her eyes and said, "I'm really worried about his leg. If we keep going like this, we're going to have to carry him. I think he got an infection in his leg. We just… don't have anything to work with. Lilly took almost everything." She started to pace around with uneasiness until Zach held her in place by shoulders.

"You have to calm down." Zach said. "We're going to find a way to get some medical supplies."

"How?" Carley asked.

"There has to be some supplies in this city. Ken and I are probably going to go back out there in a bit to see if we can find Chuck and get a boat… I guess. While we're doing that, I'm going to figure out how to get medical supplies."

Carley seemed unconvinced and said, "I should do it. You've done more than enough to help me and Doug. It's my turn. I'll go to the nearby hospital and get some there."

Zach shook his head and said, "That's a bad idea. There'll be hundreds maybe thousands of walkers in the hospital. It would be suicidal to make a run in there."

Carley released a frustrated sigh and said, "Look, I know you're right. I just… I don't want to lose my husband."

"You won't…" Zach said. "I'll make sure of it."

Carley huffed and said, "Thank you." She walked back into the living room as Zach went for the last set of doors.

It was a pair of double doors which were at the bottom of the stairs. Zach gripped both and huffed before he opened them. "Shit!" Zach exclaimed as a mop flew out of the closet.

"What? What is it?" Clementine asked from the living room.

"It's nothing… just nothing." Zach said as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He huffed before headed into the living room and said, "Well, I searched the house."

"Did you happen to find anything?" Carley asked.

"No, I didn't. Just some booze and there's dog food in the kitchen." Zach said.

"I don't think any of us are that hungry yet." Natalie joked.

Zach chuckled before he turned his eyes on Clementine. He took the radio off of his belt and approached the girl. He squatted down to her eye level and said, "I need you to be honest with me honey. Who's on the other end of this radio?"

She looked away and remained hesitant in responding. Zach understood why and said, "Clem, you're not in any trouble. We just need to know who we're dealing with."

"He says that he's a friend and that he's trying to find my parents." Clementine said.

Zach sighed. He was really kicking himself for not telling her the truth about her parents. He should have been honest with her since day one, then this whole mess could have been avoided. "Clem… I really should have told you this since day one." She looked to Zach with an attentive stare as he said, "Your parents are-" Before Zach could finish, Ben shouted out for him.

"Zach!" Ben exclaimed. Zach immediately got up and ran toward the stairs where Ben was. "Zach, you need to come up here now!"

"What's wrong?" Zach asked.

"It's Kenny." Ben replied.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Whew, long chapter. If you haven't noticed by now, Carley and Doug have replaced Christa and Omid. Might as well, right?**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach looked up into the attic as Ben explained the situation. "Kenny went up there to investigate, but I can't get him to come back down." Ben said.

"Alright." Zach said. He approached the ladder and started to climb it. He went up a couple steps and turned around to stare at Ben. It was true that Zach wanted to strangle the teenager for leaving Clementine out in the middle of the street with the walkers surrounding her, but he knew that he had to make sure that Kenny was alright, first. "Stay here." Zach said with a cold tone in his voice. Ben gulped and nodded. Zach turned back to the attic and continued up the ladder.

He reached the top and spotted Kenny just sitting near the entrance of the attic. He wasn't moving an inch. "Ken? What's going on?" Zach asked as he got into the attic and walked towards Kenny. "Gosh, what the heck is that-" Zach stopped mid-sentence when he saw an extremely malnourished walker of what must been a boy. It tried to get up but fell onto the ground because of its malnourished state.

The two men looked at the poor creature in shock until Kenny said, "He kind of looks like Duck, doesn't he?"

"There's nothing on him. He must have died of hunger while staying up here." Zach said.

"I don't think I can do it, Zach. I couldn't do it before." Kenny said.

"Don't worry about it. I'll handle it Ken, just like last time." Zach said. He approached the walker and mumbled, "This could have easily been Clementine if I didn't find her when I did." A cold chill went down his spine from the very thought of Clementine becoming a walker as he put his foot on the walker's head. He then applied pressure and killed the walker.

Kenny approached him and said, "We should bury him." Zach nodded and picked up the walker. Kenny looked on with sad eyes as Zach left the attic with the dead walker.

* * *

Zach entered the backyard and made his way to the grave of where the dog was buried. He lowered the boy into the dog's grave and started shoveling the dirt back in until something caught his eye. He looked over to see Clementine and Natalie watching him. Clementine looked on with a saddened look before she walked back inside. Natalie followed the girl and Zach continued.

Zach was close to finishing until he felt the strange feeling that someone was watching him. He slowly looked up and saw a figure outside the gate. "Hey, hey!" Zach exclaimed. The figure darted away from the gate and ran for an alley as Zach grabbed onto the gate out of rage and yelled, "You come back here and I will kill you! You hear me! I will kill you!" He felt like his entire group was being threatened thanks to the man on Clementine's radio. It didn't help that someone was now watching them.

Zach seethed as he heard the door open and heard some footsteps. He turned to see Natalie, Carley, Ben, and Clementine watching him with surprised looks. Zach wasn't one to lose his nerve so easily. "Zach, what's wrong?" Natalie asked.

Zach released his tight grip on the gate and said, "I saw someone watching me… watching us."

"A walker?" Ben asked.

"No, too fast. He took off like a bat out of hell when I saw him." Zach replied as he approached the group.

"Was it a man or a woman?" Carley asked.

"Why does it matter?" Ben asked.

"Because I want to know if it's the same person on Clementine's radio." Carley replied.

Kenny came out of the house which surprised the group. They looked at him to see a saddened look on his face. "Ken?" Zach said. He was concerned for his friend's well-being, especially when the boy in the attic reminded him so much of Duck.

"I'm fine." Kenny said. "What's all the ruckus?"

"Zach saw someone outside the gate." Ben said

Kenny's face warped from sadness to shock and then anger. "Alright, that's it. We have stayed here long enough. It's time to get back on track and get a boat so we can get out of here."

"I don't think Doug is ready to move yet." Carley said.

"Well he'd better get ready." Kenny said. "Because I ain't waiting any longer for someone to snatch any more of those boats."

"Wait, my parents were in this city when everything happened. Maybe we can look for them on the way to the river." Clementine said.

"I'm sorry, Clem, but…" Zach said but he trailed off. This was going to be harder than he thought. He knelt down to her eye level and said, "You remember when I was in your house all those days back?" Kenny, Natalie, Carley, and Ben watched on as the girl nodded. "Okay, well, I heard this beeping from the answering machine in your house. Once I started it up… I heard your mother on the other end. The first call, she seemed alright. She talked about how your father had gotten into a fight with some crazy man. The next call was more frantic. She talked about how the calls kept getting dropped, and then the final call. She sounded scared and desperate. She couldn't even finish her sentence…" Zach noticed that the young girl's lip was quivering and her body was shaking. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. "She said that she loved you, but then the signal faded out."

"Wh-What are you trying to tell me?" Clementine asked in a whimpering voice.

"I'm sorry, baby girl, but I don't think that… your parents made it." Zach said.

"No. NO! YOU'RE LYING!" Clementine exclaimed. It was something that Zach had never seen before. She had always trusted him and never raised her voice. She had never been so hurt or mad.

"Clem, I would never lie to you to hurt you. The reason I didn't tell you this until now was because I wanted you to stay hopeful." Zach said.

Clementine cried and exclaimed, "YOU'RE LYING! HE ALWAYS SAYS YOU'RE LYING! I HATE YOU!" She ran off toward the house and ran inside.

Zach was flabbergasted. He knew that she didn't mean to say those last three words, but it still broke his heart. Natalie tried to run off after the girl, but Zach stopped her. "Don't. She's going through a lot right now."

"That still didn't give her any right to say that to you." Natalie said with a slight scowl in her features.

"Natalie… think about it. She's five and I just told her that her parents are gone. If anything, she probably didn't mean it. Right now, she needs you to be there for her as a comforting and soothing mother figure, not a scolding one." Zach said.

Natalie visibly backed down and huffed. "Okay. You're right."

"You need to go and comfort her." Zach said. "She's going through a very rough time and she needs someone who has been there for her." Natalie nodded and walked inside.

Zach sighed as he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That was rough. Are you okay?" Carley asked.

"I'm not going to lie. I felt like someone just ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it until it was flat." Zach said.

"Aww… I'm sorry, Zach." Carley said. "Don't worry. She'll trust you again."

"I hope so… I'm going to make sure to kill that man on her radio. He drove a wedge between me and her. I'm going to make sure he suffers for it." Zach said with a cold, icy tone in his voice.

"I agree. The last thing we need is some dickhead chasing us." Carley said.

"Time's a wasting. Let's go get that boat." Kenny said. "Zach and I will head out there."

Carley and Kenny headed back inside while Ben walked up to Zach. "So you're just going to leave me out on the sidelines here?" Ben asked.

"You're lucky that you're just sitting out on the side lines." Zach said. "After what you did out there, leaving Clem all by herself."

"Hey, I panicked, alright? Doesn't that ever happen to you?" Ben asked.

"I'm going to make this clear. No more stupid shit. If one more person dies because of you, you're on your own. I will physically kick you out of this group." Zach said.

Ben backed away and said, "Okay, I get it."

"Good." Zach said. He turned to the door as Ben looked on frightened by the marine.

Finally, Kenny came out. "Alright. You ready to head out?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Zach said. "Is everything alright with Clem?"

"Yeah, looks like it anyway. Natalie is doing exactly what you told her to do." Kenny said. The two men made their way to the exit as Kenny said, "Still, I don't think I would have ever let a child get away with that. I'd make sure to paddle them for saying something like that."

"She didn't mean it, Ken." Zach said. "Besides, this world does enough to her. I don't need to add on top of that and neither does Natalie."

"You got to be able to discipline a child, otherwise, they'll know that there are no limits." Kenny said as they walked out of the gate and onto the street. Thankfully, there weren't any walkers nearby.

"Her parents raised her right. They raised her so that she is still respectful and kind." Zach said. "Besides, I did correct her when she went in that house without my permission."

"Yeah, I guess you got a point there." Kenny said. "Anyway, let's go find that boat."

"Lead the way." Zach said. Kenny nodded and he took the lead down toward the river.

* * *

Zach and Kenny rounded another corner which had an abandoned car nearby. It was much like the other vehicles in the city. Stripped of parts with nothing left on it. "Let's keep an eye out for Chuck. We gotta find him if we can." Zach said. Kenny didn't respond and just kept walking. Zach huffed as they continued down the street.

Suddenly, a bell could be heard in the distance and Kenny drew his gun. "Shit, it's that same asshole ringing that bell again." Kenny said.

"Wait." Zach said. "It's not the same bell as last time. This bell is further off, so it's going to attract the walker's attention to go over there." Zach pointed toward almost the opposite direction of where they were going. As if on cue, several walkers limped down one of the streets. The two men ran for cover in an alley and watched the herd move across the street.

"What the hell is going on?" Kenny asked.

"I don't know, but whoever is ringing that bell might be doing us a favor." Zach said.

"Whatever man, I find the person who's doing this and I'll ring their motherf****** bell for them." Kenny said.

Zach chuckled and said, "Good one." The herd made its way toward the bell and the two men came out of cover. "I think we're clear." Zach said as he started to backpedal from where the herd was. He looked back to Kenny and saw that the man just standing there. "Kenny what's wrong?" Zach got his answer as he approached the docks. There were almost no boats with the exception of one that was roughly backed in by a truck.

"There has got to be a boat. There has to be." Kenny said.

"It doesn't look like it." Zach said. "Let's head back to the house. We'll figure out another plan."

"This IS the plan! We don't have anything else going for us except for a boat!" Kenny exclaimed. He ran off to the boat that was backed in by the truck. Zach sighed and ran after him. He approached the wrecked boat as a smirk formed on Kenny's face. "This one might be salvageable."

"Yeah right!" Zach scoffed. "This thing is ready for the landfill."

Kenny glared at him and asked, "You have a better f****** idea?" He turned his gaze to the bay and said, "Go ahead and take a look around the water front."

"It might not be a good idea to split up." Zach said.

"We don't have to." Kenny replied. "See that telescope over there?" Kenny asked as he pointed to said object. "You can use that and survey the whole coastline."

"Alright, good enough." Zach said as Kenny went back to examining the boat.

Zach approached the object and looked through it, but there was nothing to see. He would need a quarter if he wanted to see through the device. He turned from the telescope and looked around until he eyed a newspaper booth. He walked over to it and opened the cash register. "Figures." Zach muttered as he looked to the empty tray.

Zach turned to the large wall in the middle of the street. "What the f***?" Zach muttered as he approached the wall. "I guess we're not alone here." It was a wall of walkers with some of them set up on wooden spikes. He walked away from the wall and towards the center of the street. "Well, what now?" Zach asked.

He looked over to a newspaper dispenser and noticed that the device was smashed in. He walked up closer and saw a few quarters on the ground. "Huh? My lucky day. Someone must have tried to rob this thing, but didn't manage to pick up every cent." He picked up a quarter and headed back to the telescope. He was about to insert the quarter, but then he heard Kenny.

"F***!" Kenny exclaimed. Zach looked over to see his friend approaching him. "It won't work. The haul is cracked beneath the surface, and someone stripped the battery out of it." Kenny said.

"Told you it was ready for the landfill." Zach said.

Kenny scowled at him for a second but then looked over to the wall of walkers. "What? What is that?" Kenny asked frightened by the grotesque structure.

"A fate worse than death." Zach said. He inserted the quarter into the machine and looked around the coastline. He had no luck in finding any boats that seemed fixable. There were a couple of stranded boats, but they didn't seem to be in good condition. He continued his search until he spotted something on a nearby building. It looked like a person. The unknown person jumped down from the building and made a slow descent down to the same street that Zach and Kenny were on. "Oh shit! Get down!" Zach whispered. He and Kenny went for cover and Zach looked up to see the unknown person over by the newspaper stand.

"Why are we hiding?" Kenny whispered.

"That guy over there came down from one of the buildings." Zach said.

Kenny looked over and said, "That could be our bell ringer. How about we go find out?"

"Take it easy, Ken." Zach said.

"Hey, this guy might be the same guy who has been messing with Clementine's head. Don't you want to get your hands on that asshole because I know I do?" Kenny said as he stole glances at the figure to make sure that the figure would not escape.

"Yeah, I do want to get my hands on that guy." Zach said. "Alright, let's do it. But we don't kill him. We're going to figure out who he is and why he's been f******* with us. Then, we'll kill him."

"Good. I like that idea." Kenny said as he pulled out his handgun. He jumped from the docks and onto the street. He made his way for a nearby alley close to the stand and waited for Zach to make his move.

The marine got onto the street as well with his katana at the ready. The figure ducked behind the stand as Zach made his approach. He knew that this was too easy. He looked over and saw that the figure was nowhere to be seen. He huffed before he turned and made a quick slash which connected with the figure's weapon. The two glared at each other and continued to fight one another with their weapons. The figure came down the oddly shaped weapons, but Zach parried it with his katana. He kicked the figure back and the two walked around one another once more. The figure tried to attack again, but Zach weaved away and hacked the weapon out of the stranger's grasp. Zach held the figure in place by keeping his katana at the unknown person's neck.

"We finally got that f****** who's been messing with Clem's head." Kenny muttered as he came out of the alley.

"No we didn't." Zach said as he sheathed his katana.

"What are you doing?" Kenny inquired. "This has to be the guy."

"It's not a guy at all." Zach said. "I can tell."

"At least one of you are smart enough to figure that out." The hooded figure said. It was obvious that the unknown person had a higher pitched voice. Plus, the unknown person had the figure of a young woman. The person in front of the two men removed her hood and surgical mask to reveal that she was very much a woman.

"Who the heck are you people?" The woman asked.

"I'd ask you the same thing." Zach said.

"The f***? Why are you following us?" Kenny snapped.

"Back off asshole. I'm not following you. I don't even know who you people are." The woman said.

"My name's Zach and this is Kenny." Zach said.

"Good for you so… what are you going to do? Take me back to Crawford?" The woman asked.

Both Zach and Kenny looked to each other with questioning glances before they turned to the woman. "Crawford?" Zach asked.

"Wait… you guys aren't from Crawford? Hell, I thought you were." The woman said.

"What the hell is Crawford?" Kenny asked. He was starting to lose his patience with the woman.

"Everything beyond that barricade." The woman said as she approached the wall of walkers. The two men followed behind her as she continued, "Crawford is all about survival of the fittest and anyone who wouldn't or couldn't live up to their expectations was forced to leave or this would happen."

"Our group doesn't operate like that." Zach said. "If we find people who need help, we take them in."

The woman turned away from the wall and looked at Zach with a smile. "Good, at least there are some decent people still alive in all this shit." The woman said.

"So who are you?" Zach asked. "Were you a local here?"

"Yeah, I lived in Savannah before things went to shit and the name's Molly." The woman said.

"Do you know who has been ringing those bells all over town?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, that would be me." Molly replied.

Kenny's face scrunched up in anger and he sent a glare towards Molly. "Zach I knew it." Kenny snapped as he pointed his finger into Molly's face. "I knew she has been following us, f****** with us!"

"Get that finger out of my face, Grandpa, before I shove it up your ass." Molly said. "I haven't been following you; I didn't even know who you people were until now."

"Kenny relax, the voice on Clem's radio was a guy's, remember?" Zach said in an attempt to diffuse the situation. He turned to Molly and said, "That's pretty smart to use the bells to distract the dead."

"Well trust me. It doesn't take much to outsmart them. Just a bunch of dumbasses." Molly said. "Okay, so I know that you guys aren't from Crawford then where the hell are you from?"

"We're from Macon. We're trying to find a boat." Zach said.

"Well, good luck with that because anyone who had a boat left as soon as people started eating each other." Molly said.

"There's got to be a boat." Kenny said. Desperation filled his eyes and facial features.

"Don't you think if there was, I'd be out of here by now?" Molly retorted. "I've been up and down this place; the city's picked clean."

Frustration and hopelessness coursed through Kenny as he left the two to rant a few feet from them, "Dammit! F***!" Kenny shouted.

"Hey moron, you want to keep your voice down." Molly scolded Kenny.

Kenny's reply was a quiet and defeated, "Dammit."

"Listen, I suggest that you guys go back from where you came from before-" Molly cut herself off as all three could hear the dreadful growls of the walkers. "Great." Molly muttered. The three watched the walkers limp down the street with a few of them recognizing the three.

"Isn't that…" Kenny said

"…the same way we came in." Zach said.

"Shit." Molly muttered. She ran over and retrieved her weapon. "Come on, move!" Molly exclaimed as she ran past the two men. Zach and Kenny followed her and witnessed her using the building and her advanced parkour skills to reach a fire escape on another building.

"Come on. Make it fast." Molly said as she extended her hand out to help the men to escape the approaching herd.

Zach helped Kenny up first as the herd got closer. "Come on, pal. One good jump." Kenny said as he extended his hand out to Zach. Zach jumped up but Kenny immediately released his hand from the pain of his gunshot wound.

Zach landed on his feet and tried to escape the herd. He noticed another way to avoid the walkers. The alley extended even further beyond a dumpster. He pushed the dumpster away and tried to go further down the alley, but he was cut off by more walkers.

"Shit!" Zach exclaimed. He backed away and looked around for another exit until he spotted a manhole cover. He went to it but there was no way he could pry it open with his bare hands. "It's no good!" Zach exclaimed.

"Here pry it with this!" Molly yelled over the constant moaning and gurgling of the approaching walkers and threw her weapon down. Zach quickly retrieved it, and with some force, he was able to pick up the manhole cover and started down the ladder. It was just in time too. The walkers were almost on top of him.

"Zach, you alright pal?" Kenny exclaimed.

Zach had reached the bottom of the ladder and looked up in time to see a walker fall and hit the floor in front of him. "Damn…" Zach said. He looked up to the surface and yelled, "Ken, get back to the house. Tell everyone that I'm alright. I'll be there in a bit."

Zach proceeded through the sewer. It was dark and somewhat creepy. He couldn't use his katana since he didn't know how much space he had to work with so he would have to use Molly's weapon. Eventually, he found a sewage drain. Zach went down and somehow didn't manage to slip.

Once at the bottom, he noticed half eaten rats and he could hear gurgled growls and moans up ahead. "Just my luck." Zach muttered. There were walkers down in the sewers. Zach rounded a corner and looked on horrified as several walkers feasted on something while another one stood without much movement down toward a platform which had a door and broken ladder. Zach noticed a gage next to him and a small tunnel in the wall a few feet from him. He made his way to it while being careful in his steps so that he wouldn't draw the herd's attention to him. He got inside and breathed a sigh of relief. The walkers were too busy with their meal to notice him. He looked around until he noticed a gage and wheel.

Zach examined the device and decided to turn the wheel to find out what it did. He heard a stream of water next to him. He looked over and noticed water coming out of a drain. Thankfully, a gate separated him from the drain. He looked back to the wheel and said, "The wheel's loose." He yanked on the object until it finally popped out of place. He remembered seeing a gage outside without a wheel on it and figured that he could use it to get around the herd.

Zach turned to exit the tunnel but his escape route was blocked by a walker. He grumbled to himself and looked for another exit. He didn't have to look far since there was gate that he could use to get out of the tunnel. He went to the closed gate and used Molly's tool to pull the latch apart. He opened the door and crawled out of the space.

He looked over to gage and said, "Time for me to get out of here." He went to the gage and placed the wheel on it. He turned the wheel as water poured out of the drain. It was a large drain so it made plenty of noise. Zach looked over to see all of the walkers lose interest in their current meal and were now heading toward him and the drain. "Here, they come." Zach said. He walked back to the tunnel as the walkers limped closer to the drain. He went through the tunnel and watched the walkers pass by him. He waited several seconds until he felt that all of the limping horrors were at the drain. He got out of the tunnel and looked over to see that he had one more walker to deal with.

Zach walked away from the walkers until his eyes turned to what the walkers were eating. "It's Chuck." Zach said. He squatted down in front of the mangled body and took the revolver that was in Chuck's hand. He opened the gun and said, "No bullets left; he must have saved the last one for himself. I know we didn't talk much, but I can tell you were a good man. I'll make sure to keep everyone safe so that this never happens again. I'll get stronger… that's a promise."

He got up and pocketed the revolver. He turned his attention to the last walker and approached it with Molly's weapon at the ready. However, something grabbed Zach's foot. He stumbled to the ground which caught the attention of the straggler in front of him. Zach looked down to what had his foot and he was surprised. Somehow, a walker had managed to slip into a caged underground portion. He dug the weapon into the walker's hand and with some force he removed the creature's grasp. He looked up and stabbed the other walker with Molly's weapon. He huffed as he retrieve the weapon from the walker's skull. The walker fell with a sickening thud which left Zach to explore the platform and possibly get out of the sewers.

He went up to the door and tried to open it with Molly's tool, but the handle broke off. "Yeah, that figures." Zach muttered. He went to the poster next and looked behind it. "Hey now." Zach said. He pulled away the metal plate that had the poster and looked into a hole which led to a room. "Okay, I hope you lead back to the surface." Zach said as he went through the hole and entered the room.

He entered the room and was surprised to see that the room was stocked shelves of food. He was tempted to take some of the food, but he had to get back to the surface first and find the mansion.

He opened up the nearest door to a well lit room. After navigating through the dark sewer, it was almost blinding. Inside, an older African-American man and a slightly overweight woman were talking to each other. There was another African-American man counting up supplies that were on a table. He seemed to be in his forties. There was an older woman lying on a bed near the two who were talking to each other. Three of them looked up and saw Zach with fear in their eyes as another man whipped around the door and had a revolver pointed at him. "Who are you?" The man asked. His hands were shaky and the grip on his gun wasn't strong. He was afraid of Zach or possibly afraid to shoot him.

Zach raised his arms and said, "It's alright; it's okay. I don't want any trouble."

"Neither do we which is why I suggest you leave." The man said.

"Okay… I'll leave. You won't ever see me again." Zach said as he started to back away.

"You can't let him leave! He's with Crawford!" The overweight woman exclaimed. She had a glare fixated on Zach.

"Are you from Crawford? Don't lie to me. I'll know if you are or not." The man asked.

"No, I'm not from around here." Zach said. "My group and I came from Macon."

"I have a brother in Macon. Is it as bad there as it is here?" The man asked.

"Worse." Zach replied. "I'm sorry."

"You can't trust him Vernon! You can't let him leave!" The overweight woman exclaimed. "Think about what they'll do to us when they find us."

"What do you want me to do, Brie. Shoot this guy?" The man asked.

"Why not? That's more of a mercy than what anyone from Crawford ever showed us." The woman said.

"She's right. I'm sorry, but I have to do this." The man said.

"Look, I've seen what those guys do. I'm not like them and neither is my group." Zach said. He looked over Vernon and approached the older man. "And I don't think you're willing to shoot that gun."

"Don't move any closer or I will shoot." Vernon said. He tried to make himself more threatening but only showed how scared he truly was.

"It's okay." Zach said as he reached out and grabbed the barrel of the gun.

"Vernon, what the hell are you doing?" Brie exclaimed. Zach took the gun out of Vernon's shaky grip as Brie ran over to protect him. "Vernon!"

"It's okay." Zach said as he placed the gun on the ground. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. I'm just trying to get back to the surface so I can get to my group." The group that Zach was talking to visibly relaxed from his actions and his explanation.

"You really aren't from Crawford?" Vernon asked.

"No, I'm really not." Zach said. The hostile woman, Brie, seemed to back down, but kept her stare on Zach. She still looked at him with a glare.

"Well, we are… or were." Vernon said as walked back and allowed Zach to enter what appeared to be a morgue. "We got out of there when they started sealing up the place, started weeding out the sick and the old so their perfect survivor society wouldn't be threaten. No room for weakness or vulnerability in their little master race."

"You don't look that old, so you're sick?" Zach said.

"WERE sick… We were all part of a cancer survivor group that would meet up here at the hospital." Vernon explained as Brie went over to check the older woman. "We were all in remission, but that wasn't good enough for Crawford. He already rounded up five of us before the rest of us managed to hole up and hide from them down here. This old basement's been abandoned for years."

Zach looked over the basement and asked, "What was this originally? It looks like a morgue."

"That's because it is." Vernon said with a chuckle. "Irony is always high on my list when looking for a place to hide. So how did you find your way down here?"

"A friend and I were looking around for a boat down at the river. Walkers got the jump on us." Zach explained. "Now, I just want to get back to my group."

"Well, that sewer system runs all over the city. It'll take you where you need to go." Vernon said.

Zach huffed and said, "I was afraid you were going to say that. Those sewers are like a damn maze. Could you help me get back?"

"Look, I'd like to help you, but we all have our own problems. Two of my people are sick and are in need of constant care, and I'm the only doctor here." Vernon said.

"Besides, why should we help you, asshole?" Brie snapped.

Zach raised his hands in surrender and said, "I just want to get back to my people. One of them is badly injured, I have a little one to look after, and… I can't lose my girlfriend." He lowered his head with a frown. "I can't lose her like I lost my wife."

"What happened to your wife?" Vernon asked.

"Walkers must have gotten to her. I came home and found her as one of them. This sword is all I have left of her." Zach said as he gestured to his katana.

"And you said you had a little one?" Vernon asked.

"Yeah, she's five years old. She's not mine, but I'm doing what I can for her." Zach said.

"You aren't seriously going with that f******." Brie said. "Look at him, he's probably going to lure you into a trap. Who on earth could love someone like him. He looks like some kind of f****** asshole. He probably made the whole thing up."

"It's alright, Brie. You need to calm down." Vernon said. He turned to Zach and said, "My wife died a few years ago; I know the pain you're going through. And I can tell that you care about that girl like she was your daughter. I had a daughter too when all of this started… I lost her in those first few days. I'll be damned if I'll just sit back and let that happen to someone else."

"But we need you here." The middle-aged African-American man said.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Vernon replied. He went up and checked on the older woman and gave the older African-American man a nod. Vernon then went to Brie and hugged her and gave a nod to the middle-aged African-American man. Finally, he headed Zach and said, "Let's go." He led the way into the sewer system and back towards the house.

…**To be continued.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach entered the house and huffed. "Man, feels like forever since I've gotten back in here." Zach said. He turned his head upon hearing several cabinet doors being opened and closed from the kitchen. He looked over and saw Molly who was picking through the cupboards. "Molly?" Zach said.

Molly looked up and said, "Oh hey, you made it back. Who's the fossil?" She gestured to Vernon who crossed his arms and sent a glare at the young woman.

"This is Vernon; he's a doctor." Zach said.

"Is she part of your group too?" Vernon asked.

"He didn't tell you about me?" Molly inquired and she rolled her eyes as she approached the two men. "He's the one who nearly sliced my head off back at the docks. By the way, you have something that belongs to me."

"Yeah, take it, not my style." Zach said as he handed her weapon back. Molly took the weapon back and walked toward the dining room.

"Zach!" Carley exclaimed. She ran from the bottom of the stairs and toward the former marine.

"Carley, what's wrong?" Zach asked

"It's Doug. He's getting worse… much worse." Carley said.

"Is Doug the man you mentioned that is injured?" Vernon asked.

Carley looked to Vernon with an intrigued look and asked, "Who's this?"

"This is Vernon. He's a doctor. He helped me get back here when I got separated from Kenny and Molly." Zach explained.

"A doctor? Please you got to help my husband." Carley said with a pleading stare.

Vernon appeared to be pondering his options for a couple of seconds until he finally said, "I'll see what I can do. Take me to him."

"Thank you." Carley said. She led the way up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. Natalie was standing by and appeared to be looking at Doug with a nervous stare. She stumbled slightly but did regain her balance.

She looked up to see Carley, Zach, and Vernon and said, "Zach, thank goodness." She walked over and hugged the man, but it was evident from the tightness of her grip that she was half-asleep. Zach hugged her and pulled her back by her shoulders. "I-I thought you were dead and I-I…"

"Are you okay? You don't look too good." Zach said as he looked into her bloodshot eyes.

"I… I've been trying to keep Doug alive best I can, but… and then Kenny said you were dead… and I…" Natalie said but it was obvious that she was a nervous wreck who was completely exhausted.

"It's okay, baby. Let's just get you to bed, okay?" Zach said in a comforting tone.

"But Doug…" Natalie said as she turned to the stocky man.

"I've got it from here." Vernon said as he and Carley knelt down to check up on Doug.

"Come on, we need to get you to bed." Zach said as he escorted her to another room. Natalie stumbled as exhaustion started to take over. "Whoa, okay I got you." Zach said as he picked her up and carried her bridal style. It was a good thing Natalie was so small. In fact, she was smaller than Carley when it came to her height.

She didn't fight Zach but instead she found sleep immediately as he carried her. Zach went past a doorway and entered a bedroom. He placed Natalie on the bed and placed some blankets over her. He gave a quick kiss to her forehead and said, "Good night, my beautiful love." He then exited the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Zach sighed and said, "Okay, I need to find Clem." He walked toward the stairs and headed down them in search of the missing girl. He noticed that Danielle was also missing. They were probably playing with each other, but where were they?

He reached the bottom of the stairs and headed into the living room to see Kenny on the sofa with a bottle of alcohol in his hand. "Kenny?" Zach said to the get the older man's attention.

"Oh… hey, you made it back. Good job. Good job." Kenny said. His words were slurred and there was a dopey, senseless smile on his face. He was drunk.

"What the hell are you doing?" Zach inquired.

"What does it look like?" Kenny asked as he took a gulp from the bottle in his hand.

Zach crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "Where did you get the bottle?"

"Found it." Kenny said with a smirk on his face. "First good thing that happened since…" He trailed off in his thought as Zach sighed.

"Ken, you've had enough. Getting wasted isn't going to help anyone." Zach said as he approached the older man to take the bottle away.

"Oh yeah and what is?" Kenny asked as he got up. His dopey smile was replaced with a glare. "We are f******." He sat back down on the sofa and said, "Molly said that there isn't a single boat left in Savannah. No way out! We got walkers all around us, that crazy f*** on the radio messing with us… hell, if now is not the time for a drink…" He trailed off again as he took a sip of alcohol.

Kenny then offered the bottle to Ben who shuttered away from his gesture. Zach huffed and said, "Look, have you guys seen Clem or Dani? I'm trying to find them." Zach said.

"Uh… I think so. I think that they may be playing in the backyard." Ben said.

Zach's eyes widened in horror and exclaimed, "You let them go out there by themselves?"

"I… uh… kind of… I don't know, man." Ben said.

"Son of a bitch!" Zach exclaimed as he ran for the door in the kitchen.

Zach walked outside and exclaimed, "Clem, Dani, you girls out here?" He looked around and noticed that there wasn't a sign of the two. He walked around the backyard and looked through the bushes. He figured that the two were hiding from him, but he had no luck in finding them. He looked around until he noticed a hole in the shed. His eyes widened and he went to it.

He looked down at the hole and noticed that it was an air vent which must have been big enough for the girls to slip through. He went to the front of the shed where he heard a light thud. It had to be them! He grabbed the handles to the shed and pulled back on them. He gave one last tug and pulled the doors open, but he fell back upon being pushed by two smaller bodies.

"Zach!" The two girls exclaimed. They ran up to him and hugged him.

He chuckled before pulling them away. "What were you two doing in there?" Zach asked with a smirk.

"We were exploring." Danielle said. "And look what we found."

Zach looked up to see a boat in the large shed. His mouth hung open from the amazing sight of the vehicle. "Whoa…" Zach said as he got back up.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Danielle exclaimed. "I'm going to go get Kenny and Ben!" The young girl ran to the door and headed inside to fetch the two as Zach marveled at the sight of the boat.

"I can't believe this thing was here the whole time. You and Dani did a good job." Zach said as he looked down to Clementine. However, she shied away from his glance which made him worry. "What's wrong, Clem?" Zach asked. He knelt down to be at eye level with the young girl.

She looked to him with tears forming in her eyes. "I didn't mean it… I… I thought you were dead and… and I thought the last words I ever said to you were…" She started to cry as Zach shushed her and gave her a comforting hug.

"It's okay honey. I know you didn't mean it." Zach said. "You're going through a lot right now, but you need to remember that I'm always here for you… just like Natalie."

Clementine looked up to him and said, "I really am sorry."

"Hey don't worry about it." Zach said in a comforting tone. "But you have to know that I wasn't lying to you about your parents. It sounded like their situation was very bleak when I heard those messages."

"But they could be alive, right?" Clementine asked.

"Hmm… there's a possibility, but it's very slim at best." Zach said. He heard the door open and looked over to see Kenny, Ben, and Danielle approaching the shed.

Kenny's eyes widened a smile formed on his lips. "Ben… we've got work to do."

**One Hour Later**

Zach was pacing around the room waiting for Kenny and Ben to finish working on the boat. Danielle and Clementine were coloring and drawing, while Molly looked out the window. Carley and Natalie watched over the children. Natalie looked a lot better. She needed a nap from the recent stressful hours. Vernon entered the room with an unsure look on his face and he sat down on the chair. "How's Doug?" Zach asked. His pacing stopped and he looked to the older man with a look of concern.

"I've done all I could but you're friend's got a real infection." Vernon replied. "Without antibiotics, I-"

"Will you stop pacing? You're making everyone nervous." Molly said as she got up from looking out the window.

"Why are you still here?" Natalie asked.

"Hey, if your friend can get that boat working, you're taking me with you as payment for saving your asses. I think that's fair enough." Molly said.

"I guess we could always use another pair of hands to help out… Welcome to the group." Zach said with a smirk.

"Whoa, hang on. I never said-" Molly said but she was interrupted by Zach.

"What exactly do you have to lose if you're with us?" Zach asked. "You could have very well left Ken and me to die back at the river, but you didn't."

Molly lowered her head and sighed. "You got a point." She looked up and said, "It gets lonely in these parts. I haven't talked to anyone in a while, and… I guess you guys are alright."

They heard the door open and looked over to see Kenny and Ben enter the living room. Kenny had a solemn look on his face. He huffed and asked, "You want the good news or the bad news?"

"Let's get the bad news out of the way first." Zach said.

"Bad news is she's out of gas and the battery is dead." Kenny said.

Carley shook her head and asked, "What's the good news?"

"That's it, all she needs is a new battery and some fuel." Kenny said with a smirk forming on his face. "Other than that, she's a perfectly sea-worthy vessel."

"So where exactly are we supposed to get this stuff?" Natalie asked. "From what Molly's told us, the city is picked clean."

"There is one place that's well stocked." Zach said. All eyes turned to him and he continued, "We're going to get everything we need from Crawford."

Vernon's face warped into a scowl at the mention of Crawford and said, "Now, hold on."

"Surely, we have to try!" Carley exclaimed as she jumped up out of her seat. "If there are people still left in this city that still have supplies, what harm could it do to ask?"

"Trust me. You don't know these people, but I do." Vernon said. "You show up to their front door step with an injured man, you might as well put a noose around his neck. They don't exactly welcome children with open arms, either."

"What kind of place is this?"Carley exclaimed. She was disgusted by the thought of such a horrible society.

"The worst kind," Molly retorted. "Besides how do you suppose you're going to persuade them to give us supplies?"

"I said nothing about persuading." Zach said. He turned to Vernon and said, "You said that those sewers go all over town, right?"

"Yeah… yeah, that's right." Vernon said.

"Then we're going to use the sewer system. We'll come out of the sewers, get the supplies we need, and leave before they knew what hit them. We kill anyone that gets in our, but we can't be loud about it." Zach explained.

"That's… actually a pretty good idea." Molly said.

Vernon smiled and got up from his seat. "It is. I've actually thought of doing it myself, but I just never had the manpower to do it with."

"You're going to have to help us." Zach said. "We can't navigate through that sewer without help."

Vernon nodded and said, "Count me in. I'm interested in getting some of their medicine. That medicine can help my people just as much as it can help yours."

"You got me on board." Kenny said.

"I have to go there… for Doug." Carley said.

"Then it's decided." Zach said.

"I… I don't know man." Ben said. "This sounds too risky."

"I don't know about you kid, but I'd rather take my chances than to lay around here and do nothing." Kenny said. "That boat out there is an answered prayer; we just have to push a little harder."

"I'm going to go and get ready. I'll be back by nighttime, when Crawford is most vulnerable." Vernon said as he approached the door.

"Be careful." Natalie said to Vernon.

"That's how I'm still alive." Vernon said and he walked out the door.

"Well, y'all better rest up. We're in for a long night." Kenny said as he went for the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm going to go rest up, too." Ben said as he headed for the stairs.

Zach and Carley stayed behind with Natalie and the two young girls.

"Is it going to be dangerous?" Danielle asked as she looked up from coloring and gave a worried glance in Carley's direction.

"What is, sweetheart?" Carley asked as she sat back down on the couch and looked to the girl.

"Crawford." Danielle said. Clementine was also curious on the response and looked up to the three adults.

"I can't lie to you two. It is going to be very dangerous, but we have go there. We need medicine so Doug can get better and we need important things for the boat to work." Carley said as the two girls looked down with a frown. They seemed to be worried about the group's safety.

"I don't want anyone else to die." Clementine said as she looked up to the group.

"We don't want anyone else dying either, but sometimes, we have to take that risk." Zach said.

"Wh-What do you want us to do?" Danielle asked.

"We're going to stay here and stay low." Natalie said. "We'll let everyone else go to Crawford."

"But you'll need everyone's help, won't you?" Clementine said as she looked over to Zach.

Zach shook his head and said, "It's dangerous. Plus, you girls can't defend yourselves."

"But Crawford might have my mom and dad." Clementine said.

"You're right. Your mom and dad could be there, but I want you to stay here. I know what they look like and I'll keep an eye out for them… deal?" Zach said.

"Deal." Clementine said with a smile forming on her lips.

"Alright… I'm going to go catch some z's." Zach said. He looked to the two girls with a smirk and said, "Make sure you two cause some destruction for Natalie. She needs some excitement."

"No, I don't." Natalie said with a chuckle.

"We will." The two girls chimed simultaneously.

"What? No girls." Natalie said in a joking manner. "You're not supposed to agree with him."

"Why not? It'll make the time go by faster." Clementine said.

"For whom?" Natalie asked.

"For us." Danielle said with a smirk.

Zach chuckled as he left the living room and headed up the stairs. He hoped everything would go alright at Crawford, but he knew better. Nothing was simple in this world… not anymore. He reached the top of the stairs and went to an open door. Inside, he saw an empty bed and headed toward it. He rested his body on the bed and allowed himself to sleep the remainder of the evening.

**Night Time**

Zach, Natalie, and Clementine walked outside to see Carley loading her gun and Molly stretching to get loose for the upcoming stealth mission. Danielle stood by to say goodbye to Carley for the night. Meanwhile, Kenny and Ben were finishing up on some measurements on the boat. The three walked over to join the group and Zach asked, "Are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself?"

"Hey don't worry about me. I'm not as scared as I used to be." Natalie said.

"No, you are not." Zach said with a smile. "You've become so strong in such a short period of time. It's amazing."

"Well, it helps having a good teacher. Thank you." Natalie said.

The gate was heard opening and the group looked over to see Vernon and Brie enter. Zach's eyes narrowed, and he built up a glare. "What is she doing here?" Zach snapped.

"Brie can help us." Vernon said.

"Help us how? By getting me killed?" Zach asked. He directed a glare towards Brie. "You wanted to kill me down in the sewers. Why would anything change?"

"I'm sorry for the way I acted. I was just scared." Brie said.

"So that gives you the right to swear at me and insult me?" Zach asked.

"Enough, Brie made a mistake and she's sorry for it." Vernon said. "Just give her a chance."

Zach shook his head with a distasteful glare and said, "We can do this without her. I am not going to let her come so she can put a bullet in my skull."

"Listen, I am very sorry… I didn't mean to make it so personal. I have some anger management problems-" Brie explained but Zach cut her off.

"Obviously." Zach muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"But I can help you. I used to be a student in the old school that Crawford is using so I can get you in and out faster." Brie explained.

"Is it really worth the risk?" Carley asked. "You wanted Zach dead a couple of hours ago."

"That was a mistake. Those Crawford assholes have made us all paranoid." Brie said.

"Well Zach, the decision of whether she gets to come is up to you." Kenny said as he and Ben approached the group.

Zach huffed out in anger and said, "Fine, she can come, but I know that I'm going to regret this."

"Hey, come on! Give me a chance." Brie said.

"I tried when we first met." Zach muttered with a cold tone in his voice.

"Hey, I found some tools in that shed, hacksaw, hatchet…they might be useful for this little break-in of ours." Kenny looked to Zach and asked, "Can I talk to you?" Zach nodded and they walked over toward the gate. "Hey, I measured that boat, it's a thirty-footer." Kenny said.

"So?" Zach asked unsure of what Kenny was talking about.

"So, were going to have a capacity problem." Kenny said. "A boat that size can't handle more than five passengers."

"Well there's you, me, Clem, Natalie, Doug, Danielle, Carley, Ben, and Molly." Zach said.

"Even if we cut Molly loose, we're still three people too many." Kenny said.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Zach asked.

"I'm just giving you a little heads up. Some of us might have to stay behind." Kenny said.

"Are you willing to let the group fall apart for this boat?" Zach asked.

"This boat is all I have left, Zach. I'm willing to do close to anything for it." Kenny said.

Zach shook his head in disbelief. This wasn't the friend he once knew. Katjaa's and Duck's deaths must have affected him in a way to where he was becoming cold and insincere. Zach was pulled out of his thoughts when Kenny said, "We'll talk about it later. For now, we need to get going."

He walked over to the group to announce their departure as Zach followed. He was going to talk to his girlfriend before he left. He approached Natalie and took her hands in his. "Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning." Zach said.

Natalie smiled to the marine before it quickly turned into a worried frown. "Be careful out there." Natalie said.

"I will." Zach said. He leaned in and kissed the woman before he turned to the tired five year old that was watching them. The young girl wasn't too disgusted when Zach and Natalie showed their affection. It must have reminded her of her own mother and father. Zach picked up the girl into his arms and said, "Okay, you're going to have to be a big girl tonight and sleep with Danielle. It'll be like a sleepover."

Clementine nodded in response. "I can do it." Clementine said.

"I know you can." Zach said. He hugged her and placed her back on the ground. Danielle walked over and joined Natalie as Zach turned and headed for the gate. He was worried for Natalie's, Doug's, and the girls' safety since there was someone who was watching them earlier that day, but Zach would have to put it behind him. The group headed out of the gate and toward the nearest manhole cover to enter the sewers.

* * *

"If I remember correctly, we should be right underneath Crawford." Vernon said as he looked up a ladder that led to a manhole cover.

Zach was the first to grab onto the ladder and turned around. "Okay, we need to go up there quietly, grab what we need, and get out of there. We stay close to each other and watch each other's backs." Zach said. He looked back up and started to climb the ladder with the others following his lead. At the top of the ladder, Zach pushed the manhole cover out of the way and surveyed the area. He gave the all clear signal to the group and ran for the bushes near a large building. The group followed him and took cover amongst the bushes as well.

"Something's wrong." Vernon whispered. "There should be more guards out patrolling."

"What's wrong? You disappointed?" Kenny asked.

"It's just strange, that's all." Vernon replied.

Zach kept his focus on the guard that was in front of the building and turned to the group. "I'm going to take that guy out quietly. Ken, if things go to crap, you shoot him?" Zach said.

"You got it, pal." Kenny said as he raised his hunting rifle. Zach made his approach to the guard and unsheathed his katana. He got closer and closer. His crouched walk turned to a normal walk so he could make a clean cut without any noise. However, the guard turned around and released a growl. His skin was pale and his eyes were milky white. "What the hell?" Zach whispered.

The guard turned out to be a walker. It limped toward Zach with outstretched arms, but Zach immediately reacted by stabbing the creature in the head. Zach withdrew his katana from the creature's head in one quick movement, and it fell to the ground with a thud. Zach huffed as he sheathed his katana. The group came out of cover, and Molly walked up to investigate the walker that Zach killed. "What the hell is a walker doing inside here?" Zach asked Molly.

Suddenly, the gurgling moans of several walkers could be heard. There were two that were limping towards the group and many more walkers were leaning against a caged fence to try to get to the group. Everyone looked around horrified and Zach whipped around to see the school. "Quick, everyone get inside!" Zach exclaimed.

They ran for the door and headed inside as more and more walkers appeared. They climbed the stairs to the third floor. Once they got to the third floor, Vernon and Brie slammed the door shut and leaned against it.

"Shit, shit, do you think that they saw us?" Kenny asked.

"I have no idea." Zach replied. "Well, at least we won't have to worry about those Crawford bastards getting the jump on us."

"What happened to this place?" Carley asked. "I thought it was supposed to be secure."

"What always happens, I guess." Molly replied. "In the end, the dead always win."

"Oh man, we are so screwed." Ben said with a frantic tone in his voice and he started to pace back and forth.

"No, this is good." Vernon said.

"Vernon's right." Zach said. "We can kill walkers easier than armed guards."

"I agree." Kenny said. "So long as we don't let them box us in, we'll be fine. The plan hasn't changed."

"The plan hasn't changed?" Ben exclaimed. "Every time walkers show up, the plan changes! Do you even know how many are out there?"

"No, do you want take a count or do you want to get the supplies we need and get out of here?" Carley snapped.

The group advanced down the hall as Ben muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this." They walked by a classroom which seemed to have several walkers inside by the sound of the constant banging on the door and gurgled moaning. They finally reached a classroom that must have been their center of operations. The room's chalkboard had the layout of the building and what each of the locations did.

"Here, this is the layout." Brie said as she went to the chalkboard.

"Where can we get medicine?" Carley asked.

"There, nurse's station." Molly said as she pointed to the room. "They were using it as a medical facility."

"How do you know that?" Carley asked.

"Well… it makes sense, doesn't it?" Molly asked.

"How about gas?" Kenny asked.

"Right there." Brie said while pointing to a shed. "If anything, they'd use that shed to store fuel."

"It looks like our battery will be at the auto shop." Zach said as he looked over the map.

"Okay, I'll make a run to the shed to get the fuel." Kenny said.

"It would be faster if I come with you. I can take you right to it." Brie said.

"Me too." Ben said.

"No, two's enough. I want you to stay here and work on getting that armory door open." Kenny said as he gestured to the other door in the classroom.

"I'll go to the nurse's station." Carley said.

"I'll come with you. I know what to grab." Vernon said.

"I guess that leaves me with the battery." Zach said.

"I guess I'll come with you. I'd rather be killing geeks than sit back here and watch the kid try to open that door." Molly said.

"Alright, let's get to it." Kenny said. The group left the room until it was only Zach and Ben.

"Hey Zach, I need to talk to you." Ben said as he approached the marine.

"What's up?" Zach asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I've been helping Kenny out a bit and it's killing me inside, knowing what I know. I mean he's a nice guy and he deserves to know." Ben said.

"Ben, not this again." Zach said while rolling his eyes. "I told you already that telling Kenny is a bad move."

"It's my fault that Katjaa and Duck got bit…so what am I supposed to do when he talks about them, just pretend that I understand and never tell him the truth? I can't live that way." Ben said.

"Well too bad… you're going to have to live that way. Kenny may seem like he's fine now, but he's still on the edge and I don't want him going over." Zach said.

"I can't do that." Ben said. He shook his head with a distasteful stare and walked toward the armory door. Zach sighed and hoped that Ben wouldn't reveal the truth. The last thing that needed to happen was for there to be even more tension in the group. He headed out of the classroom door and headed for the auto shop.

Molly must already be at the auto shop. She was nowhere to be seen. Zach exited the school and headed down the stairs. He walked across the pavement and notice the sign for the auto shop. It was behind a fence. Zach looked to a nearby shed and went inside. It had an open roof and the shelves seemed sturdy enough to handle his weight. Zach climbed the shelves and jumped from the roof to land in the section where the auto shop garage door was.

"Where are you, Molly?" Zach asked as he looked around for the young woman. He went to the garage door and tried to pull it open. "No good." Zach muttered. He looked around the area until he noticed a scissor jack by the fence. A smirk formed on his face and he approached the object. He grabbed the object and went back to the garage door, but he stopped upon seeing a walker land in front of him. "Holy shit!" Zach exclaimed. He looked at the walker with curiosity until he heard Molly.

"Leave him!" Molly exclaimed as she came down from a nearby building. "He's mine." She pulled out her weapon and approached the walker.

"Nice to see you." Zach said as the woman started to attack the walker. It was a brutal onslaught on the young woman's part. She continued to beat and stab the walker with her weapon. Zach was surprised by the brutality of the woman's actions and said, "Molly…" She didn't stop. "Molly!" Zach exclaimed.

"What?" Molly asked.

"I think you got him." Zach said.

"One more…" Molly said and she stabbed the undead creature into the back of its head. She yanked her weapon out and looked at the undead creature while breathing heavily to catch her breath.

"He's wearing medical scrubs. Was he some kind of doctor?" Zach asked.

"Well, he ain't shit now." Molly muttered and she kicked the walker. She turned to Zach and asked, "Have you found us a way in yet?"

"Yeah, I'm about to get in." Zach said as he showed the scissor jack.

Molly smirked and said, "Oh yeah… that'll work." Suddenly from the nearby alley, several walkers appeared and were heading towards them. The walkers leaned against the metal fence and it started to creak and groan in response which soon led to it starting to fall. "Shit… Come on. Let's get inside." Molly said as she grabbed the scissor jack. The two ran toward the door as the fence finally collapsed. Zach lifted the door as Molly placed the scissor jack underneath the door.

Zach released the door and started to turn the handle on the scissor jack. The walkers limped closer and closer until the jack had lifted the door high enough for the two to enter. Zach and Molly crawled under the door and looked back to see the legs of their undead pursuers at the door.

"Hurry and get the battery. I'll make sure none of the crawlers get inside." Molly said as she stood in front of the door with her weapon at the ready.

Zach nodded and turned to the first vehicle which happened to be a semi-truck. "Well, I see where the battery should be." Zach said.

"Great." Molly muttered.

Zach turned to the car which was on the hydraulic lift. He knew he wouldn't be able to reach it. He turned and looked for the controls for it. He easily found it and went to push the button to lower the car. "No power." Zach muttered. He looked to the hydraulic hose and said, "Molly, get ready to move." He drew his katana and slice the hose in half.

"What are you-?" Molly said, but she was interrupted by the loud car alarm once the vehicle hit the ground. "That's probably not a good thing!" Molly exclaimed as the door in front of her started to bend from the walkers' attempt to get inside.

"I know, but it was the only way to get it down!" Zach said as he sheathed his katana. He spotted the battery and took the positive and negative terminals off. "I got the battery." Zach said as he lifted the battery out of the vehicle.

"Good, put it in here." Molly said as she offered her backpack to Zach. Zach opened it and placed the battery inside the bag.

"Okay, we need to get out of here." Molly said as she ran for the semi-truck. She climbed up to the cab with Zach close behind.

As the two climbed on top of the cab, the walkers started to pour into the building, and they surrounded the truck. The vehicle started to sway from side-to-side as the creatures looked up to the two with hungry stares. "Now what?" Zach asked.

"Up." Molly said as she looked up to the skylight. Zach drew his revolver and shot the window to pieces. Broken glass rained down but thankfully neither was hit with any glass. Molly used her weapon and grabbed onto the frame that held the glass and climbed up. She offered her hand as the truck shook from the walkers trying to get to Zach. Zach jumped up and grabbed her hand. Molly then pulled the marine up to the roof.

…**To be continued.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Something happens in this chapter which will separate it from the previous chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

"Okay, now we're on the roof." Zach grumbled.

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Molly asked. She looked toward the school and noticed a ledge on the roof. She ran from auto shop's roof and jumped. Thanks to her weapon, she was able to latch onto the ledge and pull herself up. "Alright, your turn."

"I don't know about this." Zach muttered.

"Come on chicken. Just jump." Molly said as she extended her hand out.

"Chicken? Is that really the best you can come up with?" Zach asked with a smirk forming on his lips.

"Fine… jump pussy." Molly said.

"There's the snarky young woman I met at the river." Zach said as he prepared himself to jump. He ran for the ledge at his fastest pace and jumped off from the roof of the auto shop. Molly grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the ledge. From there, the two navigated their way back into the school.

Zach jumped back down into the school through a huge gaping hole in the roof. He looked up to Molly, but she stayed on the roof. "Aren't you coming?" Zach asked.

"Later, there's something that I got to do first." Molly replied.

"Wait, you still have the battery." Zach said.

"Yeah about that…I think I'll hold onto it and make sure you guys aren't going to leave without me. See ya back in class." Molly said and she left the marine.

"Molly…" Zach called after the woman, but it was no use. Zach huffed, but he kept moving down the hall to the classroom anyway.

However, as he was heading back to the classroom, he could hear the door open and slam shut along with Kenny's voice. "A little help here." Kenny exclaimed. Zach ran for the door and helped close it but a walker stuck its head in between the doors. Zach, Brie, and Kenny kept struggling with the door until Zach pulled out his revolver and shot the walker. With the walker dealt with, the three managed close the door.

"Brace the door with something!" Brie exclaimed as the walkers continued to break the door down.

Zach quickly grabbed the hatchet that was on the ground and stuck it between the handles of the door.

They breathed a sigh of relief as Kenny got up and grabbed a full gallon tank of fuel. "You got the fuel!" Zach exclaimed.

"Let's not go high-fiving each other yet." Kenny said as he struggled with the container. "How about helping us with these containers? They weigh a damn ton."

Zach nodded and lifted the container. The group of three returned to the classroom to see Ben still struggling to open the door. "Well, we got the fuel." Kenny said as he set the container down.

"Nice job, Kenny." Ben said as he continued to try to get inside the armory door.

"How's that door coming along?" Kenny asked.

"Not so good." Ben said.

"Here, I'll help you." Kenny said as he walked over to help the teenager. "Hey Zach. You might want to go check on Carley and Vernon. They may need help." Kenny said.

"Yeah, I'm on it." Zach said. He headed out the door and made his way toward the nurse's office which had been turned to Crawford's medical facility. On the way, he could hear the walkers from the other side of the twin doors. The only thing that kept them from busting down the door was the hatchet between the handles. Zach continued on down the hallway and tried to ignore the walkers.

Zach rounded the corner and swore under his breath. He immediately took cover upon seeing several walkers trying to get inside the medical facility. "Too many to take down with just my revolver… I guess it's time to see how good my marksmanship is." Zach said. He took his backpack off and pulled out Chuck's loaded revolver. He then got up and aimed at the herd with both revolvers.

He aimed the guns and fired at two of the walkers. Both walkers fell dead and the herd looked over to Zach. Zach alternated his focus between his revolver and Chuck's and continued to fire. He fired one bullet at a time to remain accurate. Each shot that rang out hit a walker until he ran out of ammunition in his revolver. Thankfully, there was only one walker left. Zach extended his arm out and aimed Chuck's revolver at the creature and fired. It jolted back and fell to the ground with a thud. Zach breathed out a sigh of relief and placed Chuck's revolver back in his backpack. He put the backpack on and proceeded to the door to the medical facility.

He entered the door to see Carley and Vernon holding their guns at him. "Relax guys. It's just me." Zach said. The two lowered their guns and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that. We didn't know who was outside. You took on all those walkers by yourself?" Vernon said.

"Yeah… don't worry about them." Zach said. "How are we doing on the meds?"

"That's our other problem." Vernon said as he approached a number lock on a safe. "All of the prescription drugs are locked in here. We tried to get it from the video camera, but the doctor's patient ran out before he could punch in the first number."

"It was pretty awful." Carley said with a saddened look.

"What happened?" Zach asked.

Carley looked distant for a second and said, "One of the people here got pregnant. She looked to be in her twenties, but the doctor who worked in here said that she couldn't have the baby."

"Damn…" Zach muttered. "What kind of horrible place was this?"

"The worst kind imaginable." Vernon said.

Zach huffed at such horrible brutality before he looked up and said, "Molly killed a walker that had light green scrubs on. Did that doctor wear anything similar to that?"

"As a matter of fact, he did." Vernon said.

"Alright, I'm going to go check that walker. Right now, it's our best lead." Zach said.

"Okay, but be careful out there." Vernon said. Zach nodded and made his way to the auto shop.

* * *

Zach repeated the process of climbing the shelves in the shed and jumped from the shed's roof to the pavement behind the fence. Thankfully, the walkers from earlier had dispersed and now there was only the dead walker that Molly pulverized. Zach bent down searched the walker for anything of use. He managed to recover a piece of paper which had 3 different numbers on it, a tape that could fit into the camera, and a name badge which had the name, Logan, on it. Zach looked at the piece of paper and said, "This is only three numbers the safe needs a four digit combination."

He got up upon hearing moaning and he looked over to see a couple of walkers limping towards him, but they were far away. "Time to go." Zach said as he ran back along the fence until he was able to squeeze through an opening.

Zach headed back inside the school through the use of the fire escaped and headed to the medical facility. However, he stopped at a locker and saw the name, Logan, on the front of it. He pulled out the piece of paper from his pocket and dialed the numbers to the locker. It opened and Zach could see a spare scrub and another tape inside. Zach grabbed the tape and proceeded on to the medical facility. He opened the door and saw Vernon and Carley grabbing as much of the over-the-counter drugs as possible. "I got two more tapes." Zach said.

"Good put them in." Vernon said as he walked over to the camera.

Zach looked to the tapes and said, "This one's the day after." He put the tape inside and pressed play. The three watched on as the tape started to play.

It showed two people. One was sitting on the bed with a saddened look while the other was the doctor. "So have you made your decision?" The doctor asked.

"I thought you said that I didn't have a choice." The young woman said.

"Well technically you do… you can terminate the pregnancy or you can leave Crawford. Of course, that would be a death sentence for you and your unborn child." The doctor said.

"Maybe that's for the best…" The young woman said. She looked up to the doctor and continued, "I stayed up all last night thinking about this. Why are we even trying to survive, to keep living, if this is what it takes? If this is what it turns us into?" She looked away from the doctor and placed her face into the palm of her hands.

"I don't make the rules Anna." The doctor said.

"Doctor, I'm begging you, please help me." The young woman pleaded as she sat upright.

"Maybe one day when things are different you can try again, but for now, today, we have to do this." The doctor said as he walked up to the safe. Vernon looked down into the camera and watched the doctor place four numbers into the safe before the young woman grabbed a nearby scalpel and stabbed the doctor. The doctor yelled out a pained scream.

"I got the combination." Vernon said; however, he didn't move. He continued to watch the video.

He backed up so Zach and Carley could see the young woman grab the doctor's gun and run out of the office. Meanwhile, the doctor muttered, "No, no." He then collapsed and a few seconds later the camera turned off.

"Well, at least we now know what happened to this place." Vernon said.

Carley walked away from the two men and whimpered in the corner of the room. "Hey, you alright?" Zach asked as he approached her.

Carley drew back a whimpering huff and said, "I can't imagine going through that. The thought of having a baby is hard enough without having to deal with this and when you have no one to help you… I just can't imagine what she went through."

"You're not…" Zach said.

"No, I'm not… I already got my baby at home. I can't wait till we go back… I already miss her and Doug." Carley said.

Zach smiled and said, "We're almost done here."

"Actually we _are_ done here." Vernon said as he opened up the safe. "Come over and help me clean this safe out, Carley." Carley obliged and the two grabbed as many of the prescription medication as possible.

Meanwhile, Zach took out the tape and placed the other tape inside the camera. "Alright that should be more than enough for your people and mine." Vernon said as he and Carley walked away from the empty safe.

"I found another tape in a locker outside." Zach said. "It might have more clues on it."

"We got what we came for." Carley said. "All I care about now is getting back to Doug and Dani."

"We'll head back to the classroom. Don't take too long, Zack." Vernon said. The two walked past Zach and headed out the door. Zach pressed play and the tape started up.

It showed the doctor in front of the camera at first but then he walked over to retrieve something from the safe. Zach's eyes widened… Molly was on the tape. She was with the doctor.

"Listen, as fun as this was, I have to put a stop to this little arrangement. This is the last I can give you." The doctor said as he went to the safe to type in the number combination.

"Why?" Molly inquired.

"Oberson had someone come down here yesterday taking inventory." The doctor explained as he grabbed some prescription medication. "He's really cracking down. I just can't risk it."

"We had a deal!" Molly exclaimed.

"Yes, we _had_ a deal." The doctor said as he turned to Molly and handed her some medication. "We don't anymore."

Molly took the medicine and said, "My sister needs this medicine. Without it, she'll die or she'll start showing symptoms and they'll take her away." The doctor walked away from Molly as she said, "I can't let that happen."

"I'm sorry, Molly. I've done all I can, but I had to look out for myself here." The doctor said.

"Yeah, that's the Crawford way, isn't it?" Molly said as she shoved past the doctor. The doctor watched her leave before he proceeded to the camera and turned it off.

"So that's why she went apeshit on that walker." Zach muttered. Having nothing left to investigate, Zach left the room and headed back to the classroom. On the way, he heard a thud and turned to see Molly.

"There you are. You still got the battery?" Zach said.

"Yeah about that…" Molly said. Zach glared at the woman who finally said, "I'm just kidding. I still got it in my bag."

Zach looked down to see a photo in her hands. "What's that?" Zach asked.

"It's nothing." Molly said.

"You can drop the act, Molly. I know you're from Crawford." Zach said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wait, what? Who told you?" Molly asked.

"There was a camera set up in that nurse's station; you were on it." Zach said. "Why couldn't you just tell me the truth?"

"Because I don't owe you anything. I mean you don't exactly give out your deepest and darkest secrets to strangers you just met, do you?" Molly said.

"You're right. I don't, but I got to ask. What made you leave?" Zach asked. "It looked like you had everything made here."

Molly looked down with a frown forming on her face. She looked back up and said, "I used to live here with my sister. She was fourteen years old when the dead started walking, and when Crawford was shutting itself in, it seemed like a pretty good deal at first. We were safe. We had everything we needed to survive." She crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Then the rules started coming down. No one who couldn't justify their place, earn their keep. No one who required special care. My sister was diabetic which under Crawford's rules made her a liability. I kept it a secret, kept her safe as long as I could, but in the end, I couldn't protect her." She wiped a stray tear from her eye before she continued. "That's when I got out. Crawford always talked about how their system worked, about how anything would be better than becoming one of 'them.' But I saw what they'd already become. I just wish I could have seen it before it was too late, before they came and took my sister away." She looked to the photo of a girl and said, "This is all I have left of her."

"I'm sorry, Molly, I know how it feels lose family, and it's not easy." Zach said as he gave her a sympathetic stare. "I lost my wife when all of this happened. This sword is all I have left of her."

However their moments of recollection were short-lived as a bell could be heard off in the distance. "I guess that's our queue to leave." Zach said.

Molly nodded and the two started for the classroom. The hallway seemed eerie with the busted lockers, bullet casings on the floor, and the dark blood splattered across the door. Zach reached up for his katana as Molly kept her weapon at the ready. The two slowly approached the classroom when suddenly around the corner came Ben wielding a hatchet.

"Holy shit!" Zach exclaimed.

"Ben!" Molly said as she jumped from seeing him.

"Sorry, sorry, Kenny sent me out here to look for something to bust the door open." Ben said as extended his hand with the hatchet. "I found this."

"Uh…Ben, where did you get that?" Zach asked with worry in his eyes.

"I found it in between the door handles down the hall." Ben replied.

"Oh shit." Zach muttered as he and Molly looked down the hallway, just in time to see the doors slam open with walkers.

Molly and Zach drew their melee weapons and went into a storm of attacks. Zach sliced the head off of the first walker he saw as Molly came down with her weapon and pierced through the skull of the first walker she encountered. They both continued to kill walkers until a bigger and stronger walker grabbed Molly's weapon. "Zach!" Molly exclaimed as she struggled with the creature. Zach turned and stabbed the walker in the skull. He pulled his blade out from the walker's skull while it fell to the ground. "Thanks." Molly said.

"We better get going." Zach said. Molly nodded and the two ran back to the classroom along with Ben. Zach could hear the walkers continue their slow pursuit as they ran to the classroom.

The group ran inside, and Brie barricaded the door with her own body.

"What's going on?" Kenny asked as he turned away from the armory door.

"They're coming." Zach replied. Kenny's eyes widened and he started to kick the door in a desperate attempt to break it down.

"That should hold them." Vernon said.

"Yeah but how do we get out now?" Brie asked.

"Come on, you freaking door, just break!" Kenny exclaimed as he continued to kick the door. The sound of walkers approaching could be heard from beyond the door that Brie was guarding.

"Oh man, this is all my fault. This is all my fault." Ben said.

"What the hell is he babbling about?" Carley asked.

"Ben, we talked about this." Zach said.

"No, I want to know what he meant." Carley said as she sent a glare at Zach. She turned her glare toward Ben and asked, "What do you mean this is your fault?"

"Kenny, I'm sorry, man; I'm so sorry." Ben said.

"Kid, this is not the best time. Whatever, you did, save it for later." Kenny said as he repeatedly tackled the door, hoping the lock would break.

"Ben, shut the hell up!" Zach exclaimed. "Now is not the time for this shit!"

"F*** you, Zach! I have to tell him!" Ben said. "This whole time it was me. I've been the one putting us in danger."

Kenny did one last kick to the door which smashed the lock and opened the door. He turned around and glared at Ben. "Wait a minute…what are you saying?" Kenny asked.

"I was the one slipping the supplies to the bandits back at the motor inn. I thought that I could get them off our back. But then it was discovered and that's when Katjaa and Duck…" Ben said but he trailed off as Kenny's glare intensified

Kenny yelled in anger and ran at him with fury in his eyes. Vernon and Zach were able to restrain him but he continued to fight against the two. "Kenny, I agree with you. You should kick his ass, but now is not the time…" Zach said.

"You little piss-ant, you're dead you hear me! My wife, my child! You got them both freaking killed!" Kenny bellowed. He collapsed and tried to take deep breathes as the two men backed away. Zach shot a glare towards Ben for disobeying what he told him to do.

"Nice group you got there." Molly said with a sarcastic tone.

"Not the time Molly." Zach said.

Kenny got up after taking a few mouthfuls of air and exclaimed, "If this asshole thinks he's get on my boat, after what he did, then he is out of his motherf****** mind." Kenny then turned his scowl completely on Ben and continued, "You hear that piss-ant? You can stay here and f****** rot."

"We'll deal with this later. Right now, we need to get out of here." Zach said.

"I already said how it's going to be. He's done!" Kenny snapped.

"Well I agree." Carley said. "I'm sorry Ben. I know you mean well, but all I want to do right now is get back to Dani and Doug and you've gotten in the way of that."

"Alright… Zach with your vote it pretty much confirms that this piss-ant stays here." Kenny said.

"What is wrong with you people? I thought you guys were different from Crawford. You're singling him out because of a few mistakes? That's exactly what Crawford would have done." Vernon said.

"He killed my wife and my child!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Zach, please, I don't want to be kicked out of the group!" Ben pleaded.

"You should have thought about that before you stabbed us in the back!" Kenny bellowed.

"I vote that Ben leaves." Zach said which surprised Vernon and Ben. They looked to Zach with shock in their eyes as he continued, "We'll head back to the house. Give you some supplies and send you on your way. You don't ever come back to us."

"Wait don't the rest of us get a vote?" Brie asked. Suddenly, a couple of walkers shattered the window and bit down on her. Brie screamed and struggled as another walker bit down on her leg. She struggled with that walker with her fading strength as another one bit down on her neck which killed her. "Brie!" Vernon exclaimed.

"Now can we go?" Molly inquired as she backed away from the walkers that were feasting on Brie.

"Damn right!" Zach exclaimed. "Vernon, come on!"

The group ran for the door and entered a bell tower that was connected to the school. Zach kept trying to slam the door shut as Carley sorted through the rounds. "I can't believe this is their armory. All they have left are two clips of 8 mm rounds." Carley said. She sighed and said, "I guess this is better than nothing."

Zach continued to try and slam the door shut as the group could hear the walkers from the other side.

"You didn't shut that door behind us?" Kenny inquired.

"I couldn't, the lock was busted." Zach replied.

"Great, just f****** great." Kenny complained. He then directed his attention down the bell tower and said, "Come on, there's got to be a way out down here." The group headed downstairs and reached a door at the very bottom. Zach opened it and it revealed several walkers walking around in a room. They turned to the group and growled in satisfaction of the new meal. "F***!" Kenny exclaimed.

Zach slammed the door shut and leaned against it, but he could feel the door starting to crack and break. "It's not going to hold. Back upstairs, go!" Zach said.

Vernon, Molly, Ben, and Carley headed up the stairs but Kenny stopped. He went back down and picked up a shotgun that a dead guard was carrying. "Zach here." Kenny said and he tossed the gun up in the air.

Zach caught it and turned around to see the door burst open. He shot several walkers as he climbed the stairs backwards until his foot went through a stair step. He tried to yank it out as a walker approached him. His eyes widened when he took notice but the walker was then shot and hit the ground. Zach looked up with an appreciative stare aimed at Carley who had shot the walker. Zach finally managed to get his foot free of the stair step and killed several other walkers with his katana. He didn't have much room to maneuver. However, he still managed to kill the walkers. He reached the top of the stairs and huffed.

"You okay?" Carley asked.

"Fine… let's just get out of here." Zach said as he approached a doorway that would lead straight down from the building with the use of an external ladder.

"You guys didn't happen to come into town through the railroad, did you?" Vernon asked.

"Yes, why?" Kenny inquired.

Vernon looked a bit shocked but shook his head and said, "Never mind, I can see the way we came in."

The group descended the ladder with Vernon first since he was closest. Vernon was followed by Carley, then Molly, and then Kenny.

"Come on Ben. Let's just go" Zach said. Suddenly, the bell at the top of the tower started to ring. Both covered their ears from the loud sound until Ben was grabbed by a walker that was attached to the clapper of the bell. Zach aimed with his handgun and shot the walker. However, Ben fell because of the dead walker's grip. Zach dived for Ben and caught his arm, "Dammit. Come on!" Zach said.

"Forget about me. You got to go." Ben said.

"Quit screwing around Ben." Zach said as he struggled with keeping a hold of Ben.

"Just let go, dammit. Get you and everyone else out of here." Ben said as a couple of walkers tried to grab him.

"Zach." Kenny said as he waited for the man at the ladder. He didn't stay for long. The sound of approaching walkers forced him to descend the ladder.

"Zach, there is no other way." Ben said as he released Zach's arm. Zach struggled to keep his grip because of the lettermen's jacket that Ben wore and Ben continued, "Just let me go."

"Alright… this is what you wanted…" Zach said as he released the teenager's wrist. Ben yelped upon the descent to the bottom and Zach got up. He ran for the ladder and climbed down it. He was surprised that he didn't feel bad for the boy's death. Everyone on the ladder could hear Ben's cries for help. It was like torture for most, but Zach and Kenny found the cries to be a delight to hear. Both men smirked until the boy's cries could not be heard any longer, and the group was in the sewer again.

* * *

The group entered the house and they went to the room that Doug was in. Carley's expression was somber as she stared at the bed that Doug was in. Natalie sat on one side of him while Danielle and Clementine sat on the other. All three seemed tired "Doug, is he…?" Carley asked Natalie.

"He's okay." Natalie said which quelled Carley's fears. "He's just resting."

Suddenly, the stocky man jolted up and coughed. "You okay?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah… I think so…" Doug said.

"I'm glad to see you're okay." Danielle said as she looked to Doug and Carley.

Carley leaned over and kissed her husband. "I missed you." Carley said.

"I missed you too." Doug said.

Carley turned to Danielle and picked her up. "Morning baby. How are you doing?"

"Better now that you're here." Danielle said.

"She and Clem couldn't sleep last night. They were really worried about you guys." Natalie explained. She then looked to the group with a questioning glance. "Where's Ben?" Carley frowned at the mention of the teenager. She must have felt guilty for what happened to him. She held Danielle close to her with the younger starting to fall asleep from being in the comforting grip of a loved one.

"He didn't make it." Zach said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"We almost didn't make it out because of that shitbird." Kenny snapped.

"Guys, what happened out there?" Doug asked as Vernon approached his bed.

"Zach did the right thing. That's what happened." Kenny said with a small smile forming on his lips. The group looked on with horrified expressions aimed at Zach. They couldn't believe he would do such a thing. Clementine was shocked by the implication and left the room with a saddened look. "Well, I got a boat to work on." Kenny said as he left the room.

"I… I got some medical supplies in my bag… for Doug." Carley said as she took off her backpack while doing her best to not wake the sleeping child in her arms.

"Okay, I'll get Doug all set up." Natalie said as she took the backpack.

"I'm going to go to bed with this one." Carley said in a gesture to Danielle, and she left the room.

Zach also exited the room with Vernon so that Natalie could treat Doug's leg with the proper medical supplies. Zach huffed as Vernon closed the door. Neither was willing to talk until Zach said, "Thanks for coming along. I'm not sure if we would have done as well if it wasn't for you."

"No problem. You know when Brie died… it was strange. I didn't feel anything. I mean, I should be devastated. After all that's how I lost my daughter, but I guess that's just how things go now and I just need to get used to it." Vernon said.

Zach sighed and said, "I know you want to talk to me about what happened back at Crawford."

"I do." Vernon said. "The way I see it. There's two different types of people in this world. People who cling to the past and hope for a better future… and then there's people who embrace this new world and its anarchy." Vernon scowled at Zach and continued, "I think you're the latter."

"What if I am?" Zach asked. "What if I am someone who embraces this new world?"

"You let that boy die. You wanted him to die." Vernon said with a shocked look.

"That's right. I had to. If I didn't, he would have put someone else's life in danger, and with two defenseless, little girls in my group, I couldn't take that risk." Zach said.

Vernon released a sigh and said, "Look, I know that you care about Clementine and I know that Carley and Doug think the world of Danielle, but do you really think that putting them on a boat is really the safest course of action? Because I don't. So I'm going to make you an offer. I'll take them off your hands and bring them back to my group. Most of us have had children of our own. We're well supplied, well hidden, and now that Crawford's fallen, we have nothing left to fear. You do want them to be safe, don't you?"

Zach pondered on Vernon's words and said, "I can't. I know she'll never be truly safe, but if I let her go with someone else, then I've taken my eyes off her and I just don't know if she'll be as safe as she is now. As for Dani, you'll have to talk to Doug and Carley, but more than likely, they won't let you take her."

Vernon looked down with a frown and looked back to Zach. "I'll give you all time to think about my offer. It's a big decision, but I want you to know some things… You're becoming a sociopath, and I know that children and sociopaths don't mix well. I know you're just trying to protect your own people, but that's no excuse for what happened at Crawford."

Zach kept his calm demeanor and smiled. "I will become whatever is necessary to protect my people. If I have to become a sociopath… a monster… then so be it. I will do everything to protect them, even if it means that I have to kill a couple of them to make that happen. I am what this world has turned me into. I am a killer." Zach said.

"That's what I'm worried about. How long till it's your girl or your girlfriend? When will you kill them?" Vernon asked.

"Never…" Zach said. "I only kill those who are a threat to the group's safety."

"So what about me?" Vernon asked.

"You're an ally. You have good morals, Vernon, but if you don't grow a backbone and stop letting people abuse you, you're going to die along with your group. You have to take charge for once." Zach said with a serious look on his face.

Vernon nodded as he pondered the words from the marine. "I understand. Thank you." Vernon said as he walked down the stairs and exited the house.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Okay… no offense to Ben fans, but YYEEESSSS! Ben is finally dead! Oh that was awesome. And as you all can see… Zach's not looking to good and it's only going to get worse from here.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Alright, everyone. This is where you'll receive a shocking surprise. More shocking than Zach becoming a bit of a sociopath… and just so there's no confusion. Zach is a sociopath in some ways, but he'll still care about everyone in his group. However, anyone outside of the group will probably be in trouble.**

**Also, I think Chapter 19 will be the end of Season 1… more than likely anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach looked over to a glass door where he saw Clementine staring out the window. She must have been in an office since he could see at least one bookshelf inside as well. He approached the door to walk inside, but he stopped when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Molly heading for the stairs. "Where are you going?" Zach asked.

Molly paused and her whole body stiffened. She must have been hoping to leave without anyone noticing her. "Oh hey, I'm out of here. I just wanted to say thanks for everything. It's been fun." Molly said as she walked away from the stairs.

"What are you talking about? Kenny's working on the boat right now." Zach said as he approached her. "I thought you were coming with us. God knows you've earned it."

"Yeah, I think that I'll pass." Molly replied. "I've always done better on my own. Besides, I never was a big fan of the water."

"Are you sure about this?" Zach asked.

"Yeah. Say goodbye to the others for me; I never was the best at goodbyes" Molly said. She shifted her focus on Clementine and smiled. "You make sure that you take care of that little girl. You know that she thinks the world of you."

Zach nodded and said, "Good luck out there."

"It has nothing to do with luck." Molly said with a smirk. She headed down the stairs as Zach turned his focus on Clementine. He headed inside the office but the five year old kept looking out the window.

Zach approached the young girl and said, "Hey baby girl."

"Kenny's fixing the boat." Clementine said as she looked out the window. She turned from the window and looked to her guardian. "What do we do when he fixes it? Where will we go?"

Zach squatted down to her eye level and said, "I don't know; I trust Kenny though. He's a good fisherman and he knows the water." Clementine looked down with a frown which Zach easily noticed. "Clementine, what's wrong?" Zach asked.

"She looked up with sad and tired eyes and she asked, "What did Kenny mean when he said that you made 'the right choice'? It sounded bad."

Zach huffed and said, "Kenny thinks that I let Ben die, but it was his choice. He decided to stay behind to save us."

"Okay." Clementine said. She was still sad that the teenage boy was now gone. Zach couldn't understand why though. Ben had left her to die a day ago and he nearly got everyone killed back at the motor inn. "Will we have time to find my parents tomorrow?" Clementine asked which brought Zach out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry Clementine. I wish we could but we may not have enough time tomorrow." Zach replied with a saddened stare. This broke Clementine's heart. She started to cry as Zach watched on. "Shh… don't cry sweetie. It's okay." Zach said in an attempt to comfort her but all Clementine wanted was her parents. It was something that she always wanted since the apocalypse began. No matter how close Zach and Natalie had gotten to the girl, he could only do so much to fill that hole in her heart, where her parents were. Clementine turned her back to Zach and cried herself to sleep in a little ball. Defeated, Zach went over to the couch and let sleep take him, as well. It had been an exhausting day and his body craved for some rest.

* * *

Zach woke up feeling rested. His vision started out blurry, but eventually, he could see the room. Panic started going through him when he saw that Clementine wasn't near the window where she slept last time. Did Vernon take her after all? Zach got up and looked around the house, but with no success. He went outside and to his horror he found her hat and her backpack. The hat was one of the girl's most treasured items. He went over to pick it up, and he examined it for blood. Thankfully, there was none. He looked to her backpack next and saw some of her beloved drawings and lion plush toy inside. She would never go anywhere without her lion plush toy.

He then heard radio static from the other side of the fence. He jumped the fence and looked over to the radio. He slowly approached the radio as he felt a bit of uneasiness. Zach squatted down and picked up the radio and looked at it until a walker came out from behind a piece of dry wall. Zach retracted his arm immediately and he looked to the walker with a glare. He struggled with the walker, but within seconds, he gained the upper hand and slammed the walker's skull into the fence with a grunt. He proceeded to slam the walker into the fence until it stopped struggling. Zach huffed as he released the walker and picked up Clementine's radio, backpack, and hat. However when Zach picked up Clementine's hat, he noticed blood on it. He turned his wrist upon feeling a stinging sensation. He looked on shocked at his wrist which now had a bite mark; it was the walker's bite mark. "No, not now." Zach muttered.

"Zach, you out here? Zach?" Carley was heard calling. Zach turned his head to see his group in the backyard. They must not have seen him. Zach quickly placed Clementine's hat and backpack in his backpack, and he clipped the radio to his belt. Zach then pulled down the sleeve of his grey hooded sweatshirt to its original length as he heard the group approaching him.

What are you doing out here? It's not safe." Doug said.

"Zach, where's Clementine? She's not in her room." Natalie asked with worry in her voice.

"Vernon's not in the house either. What the heck is going on?" Kenny said.

Zach turned to the group and they immediately saw the blood. "Zach, whose blood is that?" Natalie asked.

"A walker's. It jumped me when I was out looking for Clementine." Zach said as he gestured to the dead walker which had its skull cracked open.

"Ar-Are you okay?" Danielle asked.

"I'm fine, but I don't know where Clementine is." Zach said. "There's no way she would go wandering off on her own. Someone had to have taken her."

"Son of a bitch… Do you know what sick f*** would do this?" Kenny asked with a scowl forming on his face.

"Maybe. Vernon came to me after Crawford and offered to take Clementine and Danielle off our hands. But as you can tell…" Zach said.

"Dani's still here." Carley said. "He probably wasn't able to get her since she was sleeping with me. Vernon probably didn't want to risk waking me up."

"That sick bastard. I knew we shouldn't have trusted him." Kenny said as his scowl deepened.

"Wherever she is, I have to find her." Zach said.

"Okay, what do you need from us?" Natalie asked. "I want to help find her too. She's the world to me."

"I need you guys to stay here. I have to do this alone." Zach said.

"No way! We can't let you do this, not after everything you've done for us!" Doug exclaimed. "I owe you in so many ways!"

"Doug's right. Let us help you." Carley said.

"You can't." Zach said as he shook his head. "You got your own little one to protect. Vernon might come back and snatch her too." Both Carley and Doug looked down with frowns forming on their features. They knew that Zach was right.

"I can't let you do this alone pal. You've helped me every step of the way. Let me help you." Kenny said.

"No, you got to worry about that boat. Just have it ready when we come back." Zach said. Kenny lowered his head with a frown forming on his lips and he nodded.

"Well, I don't have anything here to tie me down. Zach, I'm going to help you." Natalie said with a confident stare.

Zach shook his head and said, "No, I need you to stay here."

"But why?" Natalie asked. "I love her just as much as you do."

"I know you do sweetheart." Zach said as he gave her a comforting stare. "But… if you come with me, I'll be worried about your safety on top of trying to get Clem back. Natalie, you've gotten so much stronger, but you're not ready for this. I'll get Clem back. I just need you to stay safe for me."

Natalie looked down with a frown but she nodded anyway. Zach caressed her cheek with his hand which didn't have the bitten wrist. He gently raised her head to look at him before he kissed her. They separated and he continued, "Stay safe. I'll be back before you know it." He allowed his arm to fall to his side, and he started to walk to a nearby manhole cover while the rest of the group watched on.

* * *

Zach opened the door to the morgue and looked around for any sign of Clementine or Vernon. He put his hands up and entered the morgue. "Vernon, there doesn't have to be any trouble here. All I want is the girl. Give her back and nobody needs to get hurt." Zach said. However, Zach's voice fell on deaf ears. The place looked abandoned. The make-shift beds were neatly closed up and there was very few supplies left in the open. Additionally, the place was very dark since there was no lighting. Zach turned and went to the door. He wondered if they had left the morgue entirely. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw that all of the food was gone too.

"Where are they?" Zach asked. He went back inside the morgue and looked around a little more. He noticed some bandages on the table and said, "Might as well cover up this wound." Zach said. He pulled up his sleeve to see that the bite still looked somewhat fresh. He used his right arm to cover up the wound and its stinging pain.

As he finished dressing the wound, Zach heard some gurgled growling. He looked up at a window to see walkers going down the street, but this was different. There were so many. They just kept passing by the window. "Shit, so that's why Vernon asked about that train." Zach muttered as he pulled his sleeve down just in time for Clementine's radio to start up.

"Zach?" A voice could be heard on Clementine's radio. The voice was child-like; it had to be Clementine.

Zach picked up the radio and said, "Clementine, are you alright? Where are you?" There was no response so Zach continued, "Clem, you there?"

"Hello Zach." Another voice could be heard on the radio. This voice was different; it sounded more like a man's voice, the same one that he and Kenny heard on the train.

"Who is this?" Zach inquired.

"My name isn't important. What is important is that I have Clementine and that she's away from you." The man replied.

"You have f***** with the wrong guy! I'm going to find you and I'm going to kill you!" Zach bellowed.

"If I were you, I would really watch my tone. Clementine's fine for now; there is a sea of dead between her and you and if there is anything I can be thankful for anymore, it's that." The man said.

Zach held onto the radio to respond but hesitated. If anything, Zach did not want Clementine to get hurt. He had to get to Clementine, even if he would die because of it. "I'm going to get her back. I don't care if I have to kill every walker in this city. I will get her back." Zach said.

"I hope you fail and I hope you die a miserable death." The voice on the other end said. "Hahaha… it'll be too bad that I won't be able to watch you die." The signal was cut off from the other end as Zach sighed.

"I have got to get out of here." Zach muttered. He could hear walkers from behind and looked to see several walkers heading towards him from the sewers. "Dammit." Zach muttered. He ran over and slammed the door shut to prevent any of the walkers from getting inside.

He looked around the room for anything of use until he spotted a rib spreader on the table. He knew that the morgue was on the lowest level of the hospital and every hospital had an elevator. He would just need to find the door for it. He ran over and grabbed the rib spreader from the table. The door could be heard cracking as Zach ran up an incline to a pair of doors. "That's the elevator doors." Zach said. He use his raw strength to open the doors and placed the rib spreader in between them.

However, he could hear a loud crash which indicated that the door to the sewer had busted down. He started to separate the elevator doors with the rib spreader until it broke off. He noticed that the door was open far enough to slip through. He went inside the dark elevator shaft hoping that he could find the emergency ladder. "There." Zach muttered. He ran for the ladder and started to climb it. As he climbed the ladder, he could hear hundreds of walkers groaning from the elevator doorways. He knew that the hospital would be extremely overran. He continued to climb the ladder up to the roof until a walker flew down the elevator shaft. "Shit." Zach said as he held on to the ladder. The walker flew past him. He shook his head from the experience and continued up the ladder until he got to the roof.

Zach looked from the hospital roof and was amazed by the amount of walkers from below. He approached the ledge to get a better look and was surprised to see thousands of walkers. "Unbelievable. Was this the herd that was following the train the other day?" Zach said. He knew that noise attracted the dead and that the train was quite loud. He looked around the roof in hopes of finding anything to distract the dead below him. Eventually, he found the fire escape, but he also noticed that the walkers had it blocked. There were too many walkers for him to deal with.

He turned around and hummed as he noticed a ladder and the bell tower which was on the other side of the hospital. An idea formed in his head and he muttered, "I hope that ladder is sturdy." He walked over to the ladder and picked it up before he went to the edge of the building. He placed the bottom of the ladder on the edge of the hospital's roof before he extended the ladder out. He grunted as he lowered the ladder until the top of it was on the edge of the bell tower. Zach huffed as he stood upright and said, "All or nothing." He started to climb the rums as his world stopped. He felt anxious. If anything went wrong, he could be sent plummeting to the ground where the hungry walkers were.

Zach reached half way but he noticed a clip snap off the ladder. Zach looked up and noticed that the ladder was starting to fall backwards. He yelped as he jumped onto the ledge of bell tower. He heard the ladder crash below him as he crawled up onto the building. He huffed to catch his breath, but he was thankful to be alive. He looked to the bell and its rope and he started to tug on the rope. The bell emitted a loud, deep ring which had drawn the thousands of walkers to the bell tower. "Alright. I need to jump back to the hospital's roof and climb down the fire escape on the other side." Zach muttered. He took a few steps back and he ran toward the bell tower's ledge. He jumped from it and landed on the hospital's roof. He huffed as he got back up. He ran over to the fire escape and climbed down it to get back to ground level. Once leaving the last step, Zach ran back toward the mansion that his group had been living in. He had no choice but to regroup with the others. He just hoped that he could find Clementine before it was too late. He didn't know what the man on the other end of the radio wanted.

* * *

Zach neared the mansion and noticed a walker limping around the mansion's back gate. He shot the walker with his revolver and continued toward the shed. "Hey, let us out!" Zach heard the voices of his group from the shed. He ran over and to the shed and noticed a shovel stuck between the handles. He removed the shovel and opened the doors to see everyone inside. Kenny and Natalie were at the door while Carley, Doug, and Danielle sat near the back of the shed.

"They f****** us!" Kenny exclaimed with a scowl in his features.

"Who did?" Zach asked.

"Vernon and his people." Carley said as she, Doug, and Danielle got up. "They came and took the boat."

"I can't believe this!" Kenny exclaimed. "Those sick f****!"

"We would have done the same thing." Zach said.

"No, this is different!" Kenny exclaimed.

"No, Zach's right. They've been going through shitty situations a lot longer than we have. They've been living like rats because of those Crawford bastards. They had an opportunity and they went for it. It was never anything against us." Carley said.

Kenny seethed as Zach sighed and said, "Well, I'm going to make things worse for you guys."

"What do you mean?" Doug asked.

"Where's Clementine?" Natalie asked.

"Well here's the worst of it. It wasn't Vernon who took Clem. It was that damn guy on her radio." Zach said.

"No, please no." Natalie said. The biggest problem with the unknown man taking Clementine was the fact that the group had no idea where he was or what he looked like.

"Alright, so we go get Clementine back and then what?" Kenny inquired.

"That's the other problem." Zach said as he crossed his arms over his chest. He unknowingly revealed the blood stain on his sleeve as he did so. All eyes were on him and the group was almost shocked to see the stain. "We have thousands of walkers in Savannah. I don't know how, but I think it's the same herd that we ran into a few days ago."

The group continued to look at his stained hooded sweatshirt with wide eyes. "Zach, you're injured. I…I gotta see the wound. It could be infected." Natalie said as she walked forward. She took his arm and turned it over to reveal his wrist.

Zach mentally kicked himself for not doing a better job of concealing it and tried to retract his arm. "I'm fine." Zach said.

"Let me take a look at it." Natalie said. She unwrapped the bandage around his wrist as Zach sighed. Like it or not, he was going to have to reveal his most well-kept secret. All at once, Natalie shuttered and she took a couple steps back. She nearly tripped on her own feet, but Carley was able to catch her.

"What's wrong?" Carley asked the devastated woman.

"F****** hell." Kenny muttered as he kept his eyes were glued to Zach's wrist. "You're… You're bit…" At this point, the whole group looked to Zach's wrist. They were shocked and saddened upon seeing the wound.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me you were bit?" Natalie exclaimed as tears fell from her eyes. She ran up and shoved the marine. She must have felt betrayed.

"Pal, I would have gone with you! That f****** boat wasn't going to be worth your life!" Kenny exclaimed.

Zach remained calm and said, "I can explain this."

"Well you better explain fast." Carley said with anger in her voice. She had her hand on her handgun ready to shoot the marine.

Zach huffed and said, "I'm immune." Carley relaxed her grip and her whole body eased. Natalie looked up with tear filled eyes as the rest of the group looked on with surprised stares

"You're immune?" Kenny asked.

"…Yeah." Zach said with a saddened look on his face. "I got bitten a day before I met Clementine. I lied to you guys when I said that all I had left of my deceased wife was this katana. I also got bitten by her. I didn't want to kill her. I tried to restrain her, but that's when she bit down on my back. After that, I went into fight-or-flight mode and I killed her…"

The group looked to Zach with amazed stares but they also seemed doubtful. "You were bitten on the back. Well let's see it." Kenny said. Zach nodded and he removed his grey hooded sweatshirt and his black shirt. The group gasped upon seeing the fading wound. All things considered, Zach was surprised that the bite mark was still there… or at least the indentations were still there.

"That… you're telling us the truth?" Doug said.

Zach turned to the group and placed his shirt back on. "Yeah, I'm telling you the truth." He turned to Natalie and said, "That's why I didn't want to spend an evening with you back at the motor inn. I didn't want to run the risk of you becoming infected and then turning."

"I… I understand." Natalie said.

"Alright." Kenny said as Zach picked up his hooded sweatshirt and placed it back on. "With that issue dealt with, we need a new plan. We can get Clementine back and then go after those damn thieves."

"I doubt that." Doug said. "If anything, Vernon and his people are already in the water with that boat."

"Let's just get Clementine and get out into the country. I'm done with cities." Carley said.

"They both got a point. Besides that boat wasn't going to work anyway, Ken." Zach said.

"All it had was a capacity problem." Kenny said.

"Capacity? What do you mean?" Doug asked. "Was there not enough room for everyone?"

Kenny sighed and said, "No, there was about enough room for five people."

Doug was shocked by the new information. "Damn." Doug muttered.

"Look, I don't like being out here longer than we have to be. Let's just get in the backyard. We'll talk more there." Zach explained as he walked over to the fence. He grunted as he climbed up and opened the shed doors from the other side. The rest of the group entered the backyard but Natalie stopped in her tracks and looked up to Zach. "Why didn't you tell us that you were bitten before?" Natalie asked. The rest of the group was also curious on why the marine kept it a secret.

"I couldn't tell you guys. You know how Larry was. And then after he died, Lilly became a hazard. I just thought it would be too dangerous." Zach said.

"That makes sense." Doug said.

"So, you're going to be okay?" Danielle asked.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Zach said with a smile aimed at the girl. She smiled back for a couple of seconds until it drooped down into a frown. She grabbed Doug's hand and pointed at something in a frantic manner. Shock and horror was evident on her face. Zach turned around to see hundreds maybe even thousands of walkers limping towards the group.

"Everyone inside, NOW!" Zach exclaimed. The group must have also seen the herd since there wasn't a moment's delay. They ran for the house as Zach closed the shed doors. He then ran inside as well and slammed the door shut.

Zach barricaded the door with his body as the rest of the group stood by. "They shouldn't be able to get into the backyard, right?" Kenny asked. Suddenly, there was a loud bang that came from the behind the door that Zach was guarding. "Maybe not." Kenny muttered

"We can secure this place." Carley said.

"You're right." Zach said. "Go see if we got any more weapons."

"You got it." Carley said and she ran for the stairs.

"I'll go with her and get our backpacks." Natalie said.

"Sounds good. Take Dani with you." Zach said. Natalie nodded and took the young girl's hand and led her upstairs with her. Zach turned to Kenny and said, "See if you can move some furniture against the windows."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Kenny said. He ran into the dining room as Zach could feel the door behind him shake from the walkers trying to force in, but the door remained strong.

Zach turned to Doug and said, "Doug…" However, the stocky man remained silent and stared at the front door. Zach turned to the front door and his eyes widened in shock. Walkers were approaching the front door. Meanwhile Doug ran to close the door. "Everyone, help Doug!" Zach exclaimed. He was about to help him until a walker grabbed a hold of his leg. Zach stumbled to the ground and saw that the walker was using the dog door to get inside the house. Zach struggled to free himself from the walker's grasp by slamming the dog door on the walker's arm with his foot. Eventually, he succeeded and looked over to see Kenny and Natalie on one side of the door and Doug and Carley on the other. They tried to close the door, but the flailing arm of the walkers prevented them from doing so. Meanwhile, Danielle stood by at the bottom of the stairs; she seemed to be paralyzed with fear.

"Zach, help!" Kenny exclaimed.

"My katana's too long. I'll have to use something else." Zach said.

"Zach, I think there's a meat clever in one of the kitchen drawers!" Carley explained.

Zach nodded and ran into the kitchen. He pulled open a couple of the drawers until he found the cleaver. He ran to the front doors as Kenny exclaimed, "Cut their damn arms off! Hurry!"

Zach raised the cleaver and hacked at the four arms off which helped the rest of the group to slam the doors shut. They breathed a sigh of relief, but it didn't last long. "Okay, now what?" Doug asked.

"Get ready to fight." Zach said as he looked over to one of the front windows as it started to crack. The group followed his line of vision.

"Shit." Carley muttered. "Come on." She ran over to grab Danielle's hand and escorted her upstairs. Kenny, Doug, and Natalie followed behind as the windows shattered with walkers. The creatures entered the house despite the broken shards of glass being embedded into their bodies. Zach was about to follow until one familiar walker approached him. He remembered the walker when she was alive. It was the same woman that wanted him dead in the sewer. Zach brought the cleaver down on her skull and left before any of the walkers could cut him off from the stairs. Meanwhile, Doug, Carley, and Natalie shot the walkers that poured into the house.

Zach reached the top of the stairs to see Kenny trying to push a desk in front of the hallway. Kenny saw Zach out of the corner of his eye and said, "Come help me with this." Kenny said. Zach ran over to the desk and he started to push it as well. Meanwhile, the other members of the group ran down the hallway.

Zach and Kenny jumped over the desk as soon as it blocked the entire hallway. "That'll slow them down. We're going to take a stand." Kenny explained as he and Zach reached the end of the hallway.

They all got into position to make sure that no one was in the way of another person's shot. Danielle stayed behind them and waited. She seemed fidgety which made sense. They had never taken on this many walkers. "You're okay, sweetie." Carley said. She must have looked back to the frightened child to check on her. The moans of the walkers got closer and closer to the group.

"We can't let ourselves get trapped." Zach said.

"Let's get as many as we can." Kenny said as he held out his gun. "When we see an opening, we go for it." He retracted his arm and unloaded the magazine of his gun and asked, "How many bullets you guys got left?"

"Four." Carley said.

"Two." Natalie said.

"I got five." Zach said.

"Three." Doug said.

"Alright, you all know where to aim." Kenny said. With that, they waited. Each second felt like minutes until finally, the first walker came limping around the corner, but it was shot down by Zach no sooner than it appeared. Several other walker rounded the corner and were shot down by the other group members. From there they took turns shooting until no one had anymore ammo, but the walkers continued. "Shit now what?" Kenny exclaimed.

"There's no opening." Natalie said with worry in her voice.

Zach noticed the rope that concealed the ladder that led to the attic and took a hold of it and pulled it down. "To the attic, go!" Zach exclaimed as the ladder dropped down.

They went up the ladder as fast as possible while several walkers slid over the desk at the other end of the hall. Danielle was pushed upstairs first despite her whole body shaking in fear. She was followed by Doug, then, Natalie, then Carley, then Kenny, and finally Zach. Once in the attic, Zach grabbed the ladder and pulled it up before any walkers could grab a hold of it.

"Well, that could have gone better." Kenny remarked as the gurgled growls and moans of the walkers could be heard in the attic from downstairs in the hall. There must have been hundreds inside the house.

"Everyone okay?" Carley asked. She looked around and received nods from mostly everyone.

Kenny was the only person who didn't reply with a nod. "Zach's still bitten." Kenny said.

"Shut up." Carley said.

"Okay, let's get out of here. We need to keep moving." Doug said as he went to the window to check to see if there was another way out.

"Doug's right. We got to find another way out of here before that asshole gets away with Clementine." Natalie said.

Doug sighed as he returned from examining the window. "There's no way we're going out that window." Doug said. "No latches, no roof access, and thirty feet straight down."

"Anyone have any idea?" Kenny asked. He looked around to blank stares, but Zach had a smirk. "Alright, Zach what do you got?" Kenny asked as a smile formed on his lips.

"I don't have anything, but I bet this guy does." Zach said as he approached a nearby bust. "He has a resourceful air to him." He heard Danielle giggle which made his smirk grow. However, Kenny was less amused by Zach's antics.

"Zach, now's not the time for this shit." Kenny snapped.

"Easy, I'm just trying to clear the air." Zach said.

"Well, that's good that this is how much Clementine means to you. You're still willing to crack jokes while she's in danger." Kenny snapped. He stared down at his friend an intimidating glare, but Zach wasn't intimidated.

Zach's hand reached for his katana as he said, "I would suggest that you take it easy, Ken." His tone of voice left no room for debate and he had a glare as well.

"Guys, this isn't helping." Carley said to stop the two men.

The two men were interrupted when the walkie-talkie clipped on Zach's belt came to life. It was Clementine. "Zach, Zach, I'm okay. I'm at the place where my parents were-oh no." Suddenly the walkie-talkie went into static. Zach unclipped the walkie-talkie and looked at it.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Doug asked.

"She's-She's at the motel where her parents were staying. The Marsh House… that has to be it." Zach said.

"How do you know?" Natalie asked.

"When I went through her house, I noticed a Savannah area code on the refrigerator. It was familiar at the time, but I couldn't quite remember where I had seen it. Now I do. I used to take my wife Amaya to the same place when I was on leave." Zach explained.

"Okay, so we need to get to the Marsh House… somehow." Natalie said.

"I can get us there, if we can get out." Zach said.

"Hold on, we're going to need to be thinking on more important things than just Clementine, when it comes to our…urgencies." Kenny said.

"What do you mean?" Doug asked with a questioning glance.

"How do we get out of here?" Kenny asked.

"That's the whole point; we don't know." Natalie said.

"Okay, now you're life depends on it. How do you get out of here?" Kenny asked as he looked over to Zach.

"I told you already that I'm immune." Zach said.

"Yeah from the first bite, but what about this new bite?" Kenny inquired. His glare had returned, but it wasn't as intimidating as last time.

"Kenny, he looks fine to me." Natalie said.

"I think it'd be best if we focused on Clementine right now." Zach said.

"We're not going to do her any good, if you attack us." Kenny said. "Look, I'm not trying to advocate anything here…" Kenny started to walk away to pace around in a small circle. "But, how is this not a thing? We're so worked up over Clementine that we're forgetting what happened to Zach."

"Let's say things were reversed and it was Duck out there." Zach said as he built up a scowl.

"Whoa, there friend." Kenny said as his glare intensified.

"Guys… easy." Doug said in hopes of diffusing the situation.

"Alright Ken, that's enough about me turning… You know what to do if things go down south." Zach said.

Kenny's eyes widened from anger and he exclaimed, "You're going to become one of them! Is that what you want?" Kenny quickly grabbed the bust off the table as the rest of the group watched on in horror. Kenny held the bust up to strike at Zach, but at the last second, he turned his body and threw the bust with an angry yelp at the wall where it shattered upon impact.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: I know what you're all thinking. And no… AWR was not to be my first immune Fic. I dropped little hints throughout Season 1 which indicated that Zach was immune. The most prominent one was in Chapter 11. Anyway, Zach's my first immune character, not Lee. There's a reason why I named this Fic Dead Man Walking.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Okay, sorry for how long this chapter is… kind of caught me off guard. Also, the view problem's been fixed, finally… Anyway, I got my inspiration to write again, so updating will increase slightly. I'm still busy with classes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Kenny huffed as the gurgled groans and moans of the walkers downstairs echoed throughout the attic. The group looked over to the wall that was hit by the bust. They couldn't believe that Kenny was about to attack Zach. The tension within the group was thick until Zach broke the silence. "You ruined that dude's face." Zach said.

"Shut up, Zachary." Natalie said as she tried to stifle a giggle.

"Wait, hold on." Kenny said as he approached the wall that the bust had slammed into. He walked over to examine it for a couple of seconds until he broke off a piece. "It's corroded to hell." Kenny said. He got up and rejoined the group as Zach walked over to look at the wall.

"What's on the other side of that wall, another drop?" Kenny asked.

"No, the mansion next door butts up next to this one." Doug said.

Zach picked up a nearby coat rack and smashed the wall. "This wall ain't shit." Zach said.

"Is this actually possible?" Doug asked.

"I guess so." Kenny remarked. "We'll work in shifts. Me, Doug, Natalie and Carley. Zach and Danielle, you two rest." The group members nodded and went toward an old couch and chair while Kenny stayed behind to smash the wall with the coat rack.

Zach stood by the chair and offered it to Natalie. "You should sit down and rest." Natalie said.

"I'm not taking no for an answer." Zach said with a smirk.

"Always wanting to be the gentlemen, huh?" Natalie said. She sighed and sat down in the chair. Carley and Doug sat on the couch with Danielle sitting on Carley's lap. Carley played with girl's strands of hair as Danielle enjoyed the few minutes of cuddling.

The young girl looked over to Doug and smiled. "How's your leg, Doug?" Danielle asked.

"Well, I'm doing a lot better than a couple days ago." Doug said with a smile. He looked to the group and said, "Thank you guys for helping me when I was down."

"You're a member of this group, Doug. We had to help you." Natalie said.

"Besides, you've helped us out a lot back at the motor inn." Zach said. "So, I'm curious… You two going to…?" Zach gestured to Danielle and the two immediately understood what he was referring to.

"Not yet…" Doug said. He turned to Carley and said, "I don't know. Do you think it's time?"

Danielle looked to Doug with a questioning stare and asked, "What are you talking about?" She was unsure of where the conversation was going which made her feel scared and nervous.

Carley smiled and said, "I think it's time." She turned the six year old on her lap around to face her and Doug scooted close so that they were both in the girl's line of vision. "Danielle, Doug and I have been talking for a long time about this… and it's alright if you don't want to do this now. It's a big a decision, but would you like Doug and I to become your adoptive mommy and daddy?"

There was a moment of silence as both adults kept a comforting smile aimed at the girl. She must have been speechless. The only thing that could be heard in the background was Kenny smashing the wall with the coat rack. "I know that we'll never be able to replace you mother, but Carley and I love you very much. We want to be with you as you grow up and we want to make memories with you." Doug said.

"I…I… yes…" Danielle said with a whimper. She must have been overjoyed to have family again.

Both Doug and Carley had tears in their eyes. Carley held the young girl close to her as Danielle shook with a few overjoyed sobs. Meanwhile, Doug wrapped his arms around his wife and newly adopted daughter. It might have been the happiest moment of his life.

"Congratulations, you three." Natalie said. "I'm sure you'll be happy together."

"I really hope so. Surviving in this new world isn't very easy." Doug said as he relaxed his grip.

"Well, so far we got a decent size group. We just need to find a place to hunker down after we get out of here." Zach said.

Carley pulled Danielle back with an affectionate stare. "I… I love you." Danielle said to both Carley and Doug.

"We love you too, baby." Carley said.

Doug smiled at the little girl until he heard Kenny approach. "Alright, I'm out of gas." Kenny huffed. He looked to Doug and asked, "How about you have a whack at it?"

Doug nodded and said, "I'm on it." He got up and headed over to the wall to make the hole big enough for the group to enter.

"Won't be long now till we get out of here." Kenny said. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You okay, Ken?" Zach asked.

"I… don't know. I feel like everything is coming at me all at once. Now that I lost my boat, I feel like Katjaa's and Duck's deaths were in vain." Kenny said. He looked over the armrest and spotted some alcohol. A smirk formed on his face and he grabbed the bottle. He took a quick swig as the group could hear Doug in the background.

"So, Zach, what are we going to do about this guy on Clementine's radio? Do you think we should find out who he is and why he did this?" Natalie asked.

"No." Zach said. "I don't care who he is and why he did this. When I get my hands on him, I'm going to kill him."

"It's probably for the best." Carley said. "The world's got enough evil in it."

"Damn straight." Kenny muttered as he took another sip. He then offered some to Zach, but he shook his head. Natalie and Carley also denied a drink.

"I'm through." Doug exclaimed. He laid the coat rack down and breathed heavily as he looked through the hole. "No walkers. Things are finally looking up." Doug remarked. He entered into the adjacent building, followed by Danielle, Carley, Natalie, Kenny, and Zach.

The group entered a room that seemed well-decorated despite the cobwebs and layer of dust. "Everyone, keep an eye out." Kenny said as he examined a drawer. Zach's eyes quickly fixated on the bed where a couple of decaying bodies were. Zach looked around and noticed that everyone else in his group was staring at the deceased couple as well. They both had gunshot wounds to their heads and the man had a gun in his hand. "How can they have done this?" Natalie asked.

"It's what Katjaa did." Kenny said with a saddened stare aimed at the couple.

"It's alright, Ken." Zach said trying in vain to comfort his friend.

"No, Zach, she left me." Kenny said. "The people I cared about… you don't just quit because it's hard; you stick it out for the people you love." Kenny regained his confidence with a glare and continued, "So, let's go get that little girl."

"Yeah, we should keep moving." Natalie said.

Kenny went up to the bodies and picked up the handgun and unloaded the magazine. "Got at least one shot left." Kenny loaded the magazine back into the gun and went to investigate a nearby drawer.

"Let's clear the room before we move on." Carley said as she went through one of the drawers. "Zach, you figure out where we're going."

Zach nodded and headed toward the balcony door as Doug, Carley, Kenny, and Natalie started checking drawers, but it seemed that the room had nothing of value. Zach opened the door and looked out from the balcony.

"There's nothing in here but personal items." Carley said.

Across the balcony was the roof of a nearby house which was a couple inches higher than the balcony and had a gap of a couple feet. "We could probably stay off the streets all the way to River Street, if we're careful." Kenny remarked.

"Tough part is getting to that roof." Zach said.

"So how should we do this?" Natalie asked.

Zach looked to the group members. He knew that none of them had the physique that he had. "I'm going to go across that gap first with Dani. Then I can help you guys get over."

"That sounds like a good idea." Doug said.

Zach nodded before he crouched down to Danielle's eye level. He looked to her and noticed that she had fear in her eyes. "I'm scared." Danielle said.

Zach gave her a comforting smile and said, "I know you are, but you'll be okay. You just got hold on very tightly."

Danielle looked up and nodded to Zach as an indication that she understood. Zach turned around so that the girl could climb onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He got up with the girl holding on for dear life. He got up on the balcony railing and readied himself for the jump. He yelped as he jumped the gap as the girl on his back squealed in fear from being airborne for a couple of seconds. He grunted as he dragged himself up to onto the roof. Zach huffed as he went to release Danielle's hands. "Okay, Dani, you're good. We're on solid rooftop now." The girl released her grip and Zach could hear a sigh of relief from her.

He looked back to the group and said, "Doug, you're next." The stocky man nodded and he got onto the railing. He jumped and Zach grabbed his hand. Zach groaned as he pulled the stocky man onto the roof. He repeated the same process with Carley but with less strain and on his body. He pulled the young woman up to the roof before he extended his arm out to his girlfriend.

Natalie was a tad more hesitant. Zach remembered that she was afraid of heights. "Come on, baby. You're going to be fine." Zach said to the woman. Natalie shook in fear as she slowly climbed onto the balcony. Her whole body shook as she stood on the balcony. "One good jump and then I can do the rest." Zach said.

Natalie nodded and she jumped from the balcony. She yelped from being airborne for a couple of seconds until Zach was able to take a hold of her hand. Zach used little effort to pull her up onto the roof due to her small figure. Once Zach got her onto the roof, Natalie crawled from the edge and breathed out a sigh of relief.

Kenny was the last of the group to jump the gap. He wasn't afraid of heights like Natalie was. He climbed onto the balcony's metal railing and jumped up. Zach caught him and brought him up to the roof. "Well that's done." Kenny muttered as Zach got back up.

"I already miss solid ground." Natalie said. "I really hate heights."

"I never knew that." Carley said.

"You're going to be okay, Natalie. We're going to be with you all the way to the Marsh House." Zach said. Natalie sent a thankful stare at her boyfriend. He smiled at her before he said, "Let's keep moving. We need still need to get Clementine back." The group nodded and they proceeded from rooftop to rooftop.

**2 Hours Later**

The group crossed a wooden plank with Carley going first, followed by Danielle, Doug, Natalie, Zach, and finally Kenny. Over the past couple of hours, Natalie had gotten somewhat used to being on top of the buildings.

Carley walked toward an opening in the roof and looked down to see an empty floor. She held out her arm to stop the group. They surrounded the opening as Carley asked, "Do you think that there are some walkers underneath us?"

Zach approached the opening and stood with Natalie. "I don't doubt it." Zach said. "It's probably a death trap down in there."

"Come on, you bunch of lollygaggers." Kenny said as he went up to Zach and bumped him. Zach stumbled for a second but regained his balance to the expense of dropping the walkie-talkie into the building. Everyone's eyes widened in horror as Kenny said, "Ah, f***."

"We got to get that back. That's our lifeline to Clementine." Zach said.

"We'll have to move on without it." Kenny said. "I'm sorry, pal, but I don't think we can reach it from here. And it's not worth any of our lives to get to it."

"What if the freak that has Clementine decides to move her? How will we contact her?" Natalie asked. "Any clue, even the smallest one, can prove invaluable."

"Let's think this through." Kenny said.

"It's already thought through." Natalie said. She jumped down into the building. All eyes widened upon seeing the young woman jump down into the opening.

"Natalie!" Zach exclaimed. "Holy shit! Are you crazy?"

The young woman ignored her boyfriend and picked up the walkie-talkie within the abandoned building. "I got it." Natalie said with a smirk. She held up the walkie-talkie to show the group. She reached up to grab her boyfriend's hand, but she was out of reach.

"Come on. Reach baby. You gotta reach." Zach said. Natalie shook her head and decided to try to jump to get a grasp of her boyfriend's hand. However, she was still out of reach. "Doug, find something." Zach said as he continued to try to get a hold of her hand.

After a couple of moment of Natalie trying to reach his hand, Zach heard Doug say, "Here, I found this." Zach turned to the stocky man who held a rebar in his hands.

"Thanks Doug." Zach said as he accepted the rebar. "Quick, grab onto this and we'll pull you up." Zach said as he extended the rebar down towards Natalie. She appeared to be winded from the prior jumping, but she did one last jump and held onto the rebar. Zach pulled her up as Carley, Doug, and Danielle watched on with worry in their eyes. Kenny soon joined Zach, but Natalie lost her grip and fell to the floor below. She yelped upon the fall and huffed.

Zach could hear it. It was the moans and gurgled growls of the walkers. He knew it! He knew that there were walkers within the building and now the love of his life was down in the building with them.

"Oh shit. They must be in there." Doug said as he ran over to help Zach and Kenny to reach Natalie.

"Come on. You gotta jump." Zach said with an almost pleading tone in his voice. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't suffer her loss. It would break him. However, neither he nor Doug could reach her and the walkers were getting closer. Natalie lost all focus on the two men and was more focused on concentrating on the shadows within the building.

"Me and my f***** mouth." Kenny grumbled. Zach looked up to the older man just in time to see him jump down into the building.

"Kenny!" Doug exclaimed.

"Grab her, Ken." Zach said.

"Come on darlin. You can't be dying on us, especially when there are folks in this group that care about ya." Kenny said as he pulled her toward Zach and Doug. He got down and cupped his hands around her foot. He grunted as he hoisted her up to where she was able to reach Zach's and Doug's hand. They were finally able to take a hold of her hand and bring her back up onto the rooftop.

Zach pulled Natalie close to him as she gripped him with a good portion of her strength. "Kenny what are you doing, man?" Zach exclaimed.

"Go Zach! Get Clementine back!" Kenny exclaimed as he fired at a nearby walker. Other walkers started to gang up on him.

"Kenny! Kenny!" Zach shouted but the herd of walkers were all that the group could see.

The group looked on in horror as several walkers covered up the opening on the roof. "Get the f*** off me!" Kenny spat and another shot could be heard.

"Ken!" Zach exclaimed.

"Just go… I'll be…" Kenny struggled to say, but after muttering those words, the group couldn't hear him any longer. The only thing that they could hear was the walkers.

Zach continued to hold Natalie close as she started to whimper. "I'm sorry… I just…"

"It's okay." Zach said as he tried to comfort her.

"I was worried about Clem…" Natalie said.

"I know… Kenny made his choice." Zach said. He looked up to Doug, Carley, and Danielle who all seemed to feel bad for what happened to Kenny. "We're not going to let Kenny's sacrifice be in vain. We're not too far from the Marsh House. It's only a couple blocks from here." Zach said as he looked over to the motel where Clementine and her captor was.

Natalie released Zach from her tight hug and nodded to him. She was ready to move on. Zach gave a comforting smile and the two proceeded with the group toward a rusted sign that ran from the building they were on to the building that was on a different block. On the streets below, there were hundreds of walkers limping around. "That signs really rusted out." Doug said.

"It'll be risky getting across it." Carley said.

"I'll go across first… to test it." Zach said.

"I'm the heaviest one here out of all of us." Doug said. "I should go first."

"Yeah, well, I'm the only one of us who's immune. If the sign collapses, I at least have a fighting chance." Zach said. No one within the group seemed argue his point. "Alright, then we're agreed. I'll go across first." Zach said.

"Just be careful." Natalie said as Zach took a hold of the sign.

"Always am." Zach said as he shuffled across the sign. It creaked with a loud moan which somehow didn't attract the walkers down below. Zach was almost to the other side when suddenly the sign broke apart. "Zach!" Doug, Carley, and Natalie exclaimed. Zach was on the edge of a portion that somehow didn't fall to the ground. He groaned as he pulled himself up from being on the edge and looked to the group.

"I'm good!" Zach called out to the group.

"Just hang on, okay? We'll find a way to get to you." Doug said as he looked for another way to get to Zach.

Zach looked down to the cluster of walkers down below and shook his head. He looked up to the Marsh House which was less than half a block away from him. "Forget it." Zach said. "I'm going for it."

"Going for it? What does that even mean?" Carley asked.

"It means that I'm immune so there's no point in you guys risking your lives for me." Zach said. "Get out of Savannah and head for the train. Clem and I will meet you guys there. Just stay safe."

They were all hesitant to oblige to his demands until Natalie said, "Okay. We'll meet you there."

Zach nodded and he dropped down to the street below. "I'm going to fun in this." Zach muttered as he drew his katana. He approached the herd of walkers and slashed at the first one in front of him. The other walkers took notice, but Zach sliced them down with ease. He stabbed another walker that got close with some of its brain matter spraying on him.

He growled as he slashed at more of the walkers, and even more brain matter and walker blood covered his blood-drenched clothes. He'd have to get a new pair of clothes later. One last walker approached him, and he used the katana to slice the walker in half. It growled in response and reached for Zach until he finished it off. He huffed as he looked up. He readied himself for more of the walkers, but he noticed that the walkers were no longer paying attention to him. He didn't quite understand why… It might have been a part of his immunity. He remembered that Clementine's babysitter turned walker sniffed him as if it wasn't sure if he was a walker or not.

He proceeded forward and headed for the front door of the Marsh House. However, he stopped in his tracks upon seeing the vehicle in front of the building. It was a Volkswagen; the same vehicle that his group had stolen from. So that's who this stranger was. It was someone that they wronged. Of course, how were they supposed to know that the vehicle's owners were still alive? It appeared to be abandoned.

Zach shook his head to focus on the main priority of getting Clementine back, and he headed for the front door of the Marsh House. He went up on the first floor and checked each room by listening into the room and opening the door. He also searched for any oddities. It was slow and tedious, but with Clementine being so close, Zach wasn't going to let the stranger slip away with her.

* * *

It had been an hour since he started his search. He was on the third floor of the building. He had one last room to check. He placed his ear against the door, and just as usual, there was nothing. He opened the door, but what he discovered shocked him. The room was different from the other ones. The room had the average setup that the other rooms had. There was a dining table that was surrounded by a couple of chairs and there was a table that was against a wall. However, the most noticeable section in the room were the two doors. The two doors were attached by a white chord. Zach approached the chord and raised his katana to slice the chord in half, but he stopped when he heard a man's voice. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Zach turned to the man and noticed that the man had his gun out. The man was very gaunt and didn't appear threatening, yet something about him was off. His eyes read insanity and paranoia with a hint of revenge in them. He didn't look right.

"I got us conjoining rooms." The stranger said.

"Where is she?" Zach asked.

"She's fine, but you… you ruined everything. You were supposed to die out there." The stranger said as he glared at Zach. "Your things… over there." The stranger said as he indicated to the table against the wall.

"Hey, let me out!" A young girl exclaimed which came from the direction of one of the doors. Zach's eyes widened; he knew who the little girl was. It was Clementine! "Who's out there?"

Zach took in a breath to speak, but the stranger shushed him and held him at gunpoint. "It's Zach, sweetie. Just stay inside. Everything will be fine." Zach said despite being held at gunpoint.

Zach turned back to the stranger who had a glare aimed at him. "You should really follow orders. I didn't want you to talk to her. I should punish you for doing that." The stranger said.

"I don't follow orders. If I did, I wouldn't be alive." Zach said.

"Your things… over there." The stranger said. Once again, the stranger indicated to the table against the wall, except he gestured with the handgun as opposed to the head gesture from earlier. "You're lucky that I have a good temper."

Zach approached the table with the stranger keeping his gun pointed at him. He placed his backpack which held almost all of his supplies and his katana on the table. He also placed his empty revolver and Clementine's radio on the table. "That's everything." Zach said.

The stranger looked to the equipment on the table and said, "Good, go sit over there." He indicated to one of the chairs to which Zach obliged. The stranger followed him, making sure to keep Zach at gunpoint. The two men sat down across from one another with the coffee table separating them. "Do you know who I am?" The stranger asked.

"Yeah, I saw the Volkswagen out front." Zach said.

"See anything else that you want to take?" The stranger asked. "There's not much left. You and your group took almost everything."

"I didn't take from you." Zach said.

"Your people didn't?" The stranger inquired.

"That is irrelevant. You can't blame me for the actions of others." Zach said as a glare formed on his face.

"On the contrary, I can and I have. I'm the judge, I'm the jury, and in your case, I'm the executioner. Besides, that's not your only crime against humanity." The stranger said. The stranger's glare softened a little and he said, "Let me ask you. Have you ever hurt somebody you cared about? I know you weren't always a hurtful asshole who only cared about himself."

"How about you look in a damn mirror?" Zach spat. "I gave up eight years to serve my country while my relationship with my wife rotted away, I saved a little girl at the very beginning of all of this, and I went on to save multiple people several times."

"And what cost?" The stranger inquired as he shoved the gun in Zach's face. "How many lives were lost because of you?"

"What are you talking about?" Zach asked.

The stranger relaxed his arm and said, "Your biggest crime was against me and my family… I hurt her… so badly. I took our son Adam into the woods to go hunting, even against my wife's wishes, but then I couldn't find him. I came back and the look she had said that I was a monster. We went looking for him but we couldn't find him, then we went back to our vehicle. I could have gotten her trust back, Zach, but not after what you and your people did." The stranger sighed as he continued his story. "The hungrier we got, the more she blamed me. Until finally, she took our daughter, Elizabeth, and left. They didn't get far. I found my wife a day later, in the road… As for my daughter… I still don't know what happened to her…"

"So from what I understand, you lost your family through your own stupidity and actions." Zach said. "It all started when you recklessly lost your son."

"As I said before, I could have gotten my wife's trust back, but then you and your people came and ruined any chance of that." The stranger said. The stranger leaned forward with an intimidating glare and said, "You are a monster. You walked her into a dairy full of sick people without any consideration."

"We were starving and we didn't know about them being cannibals." Zach said.

"You showed a dead mother to a traumatized child." The stranger hissed.

"I couldn't lie to her. She had to know the truth." Zach said.

"You allowed a boy to die when you could have very well saved him." The stranger said.

"It was too risky to let him live. He would only get someone else killed." Zach said. "I couldn't let that happen."

"You're worse than those things walking around out there…" The stranger said. "You're a murder and a psycho, and I'm going to hurt you so bad."

A smirk found its way on Zach's face. "You know? You're so quick to criticize me of my short-comings, but what about you?" Zach asked.

"What are you talking about?" The stranger asked with a frown forming on his lips.

"Where were you when we were stuck in that dairy farm? Where were you when she lost her friend? Where were you when she would have a nightmare and wake up crying?" Zach asked. The stranger was about to speak up, but Zach spoke again. "That's right. You were nowhere near her. You were on that damn walkie-talkie."

The stranger laughed and said, "Do you really think that you've been a good father to her? She's had to grow up because of you. It's hilarious if you think that she adores you like a father. You don't even know how old she is."

"She's five." Zach said.

"Wrong." The stranger said which shocked Zach. "She's six."

"What?" Zach asked as he looked down with a frown.

"Her birthday was four days ago. I know how to be a dad." The stranger said. "She wouldn't be put through some of the things that she has been put through with you. We can have a family."

A new smirk found its way on Zach's face and he even laughed. His laughter sounded almost intimidating. "You really haven't thought this through, haven't you?" Zach said as the stranger glared at him. "Let's say everything will go off without a hitch. You kill me, you and Clem somehow work around that herd outside, and you lose my group. Do you really think that she's going to care about you?" Zach laughed before he continued, "No, she's going to look to you and see you as the murderer of her guardian. The only reason that she cared about you was because you had her parents which you don't. She'll know what you are, and one day, she'll get her opportunity to get back at you. "

"That is a lie!" The stranger exclaimed with anger and hurt on his face.

"Look at you! Do you really think you can take care of a child? YOU COULDN'T EVEN SAVE YOUR FAMILY! YOU'RE A WORTHLESS WORM WHO DESERVES TO DIE! YOUR WIFE, YOUR SON, YOUR DAUGHTER ARE ALL DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" Zach bellowed.

"SHUT UP!" The stranger exclaimed as he raised his gun at Zach. His finger grew closer to the trigger, but Zach quickly reacted by kicking the coffee table up which hit the gun out of his hand. The gun flew across the floor with the stranger running toward the gun.

Zach pounced on the stranger and struggled with him. Despite how gaunt the stranger looked, he was quite strong. Zach growled as he threw the stranger across the room. Zach ran at the stranger and started to choke him. The stranger reacted by kicking him away.

Zach threw a punch which connected with the stranger's face. The punch stunned him long enough for Zach to send another punch which sent the stranger to the ground. Now having the upper hand in the fight, Zach kicked the stranger repeatedly. He was using as much of his strength as he could. He hoped to cause serious pain and damage. He was succeeding. He could hear the stranger's ribs crack and break and the stranger now had blood coming out of his mouth. Zach huffed as he finished one last kick to the stranger's ribs.

The stranger sobbed in pain while muttering out. "Tess… Tess… I'm so sorry. I did this for us…" Zach took no pity on the stranger. He walked up to the desk and retrieved his backpack, his revolver, and the walkie-talkie. He walked up to the stranger and dragged the weeping man to the hallway.

"You put a wedge between me and my girl… Now, you're going to pay the consequences of that action." Zach said as he opened another door. He threw the stranger on the ground. The man yelled in pain and cried harder as Zach pulled out his katana.

"Please… please… don't kill me." The stranger pleaded. "You will never see me again… just let me live." The stranger had one of his arms up in defense as Zach started to smile.

"You know? You were right." Zach said. "I am a monster, but I will be the monster if it means that I can protect my people, my family, my girl from people like you." He raised his katana, and with one quick motion, he beheaded the stranger. Zach sheathed his katana and said, "Now… you're going to spend the rest of your undead existence in here… alone and with no options. I wish you the best of luck." Zach went to the door and closed it.

Zach released a sigh and went back to the room. His sinister smile was gone and replaced with a look of concern over the young girl that his nemesis had grabbed. He approached the white chord and slashed it with his katana. With the chord sliced in half, he went to the door and opened it. Inside he saw the young girl looking anxiously at him. However, her anxiety gave way to glee. She smiled and ran up to him. Zach bent down and embraced the girl. He couldn't help but squeeze her.

"You're squishing me." Clementine whined as Zach picked her up.

"Sorry, baby girl. I just really missed you." Zach said as he relaxed his grip. He rubbed her back in a comforting manner and took a minute to enjoy having the little girl in his arms again.

"I'm sorry." Clementine finally said.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" Zach asked as he pulled the girl away from his hug.

"I… I led him to us. I'm so sorry." Clementine said with a frown.

"It's not your fault honey. That man abused your trust. He was a bad man." Zach said.

"Wh-What happened to him?" Clementine asked.

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that you're with me again." Zach said. He placed the girl on the ground and said, "Come on. Let's get out of Savannah." He approached the door with Clementine following behind. As soon as Zach opened the door, he was greeted to a walker on the other side. It growled as it sniffed him. Zach immediately stiffened up, but to his surprise, the walker didn't try to bite him. Instead, it looked to Clementine with a satisfied growl and started to approach her. Zach immediately grabbed the walker and threw it to the ground. It growled as he stomped on its skull and its brain matter spewed everywhere. Clementine shuttered when some of it got on her.

"Ew…" Clementine whined.

"Sorry, honey. I guess I should have used my katana." Zach said.

Clementine looked to Zach and said, "It didn't bite you."

Zach looked down and said, "I had to get through a lot of them to get here. This must be the key. We'll get through that herd, but… I'm going to have to cover you."

Clementine shuttered at the fact that she would have to be covered in muck. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." Zach said with a serious tone in his voice. "Don't worry. I'll be there to protect you." He unsheathed his katana and started to slice the walker open. He gestured Clementine to come over. She did as he asked and he started to cover her in the walker's entrails. Clementine whined and cried from disgust as Zach covered her.

"This is so gross." Clementine whined.

"Alright, I'm going to need to do your back too." Zach said.

Clementine cringed but she turned around anyway. Zach wiped the guts over Clementine's back and she started to whine and cry again.

"Don't worry, we'll get you a bath soon after this." Zach said.

"Not soon enough." Clementine said. "Are you done?"

"Just a little more." Zach said. "I want to be sure." He then slathered more of the walker's guts on Clementine. Zach got up and said, "There, that should do it."

"I hope so." Clementine said with tears forming in her eyes.

"And you're missing something." He took his backpack off and looked through it until he found her hat. He then handed the hat to her.

"I thought it was gone." Clementine said as she grabbed the hat to place it back on her head.

"I thought you were gone." Zach said with a smile forming on his lips. "I also got your backpack with your lion in it. I'll give you both when we're out of the herd." He zipped up the backpack and placed it back on.

"Thank you." Clementine said. Zach nodded to the girl and the two made their way out of the room and down the hall to head outside.

Zach was back in the walker infested streets of Savannah. He kept an arm around Clementine to keep her going at his pace. The two started to walk through the herd with Zach having to weave around any incoming walkers that got too close to him and Clementine. He could hear the girl whimper more and more. It was starting to draw the walkers' attention. Zach tried to shush her, but it didn't work. Finally, Zach stopped and picked up the girl. "It's okay." Zach whispered. "Just close your eyes and fall asleep. I'll get us through this. I promise."

He continued to walk through the herd with the girl in his arms. Thankfully, Clementine didn't stir. She must have been asleep.

**Morning**

Zach walked through a field of tall grass with Clementine holding his hand. The girl had received her backpack as soon as the two exited Savannah. Zach looked down to the girl with a smile and said, "There's a log up ahead. Let's rest there."

"Okie-dokie." Clementine chirped.

Zach was glad to have her back. Her positive attitude made his days better. He knew that he would never be the same again. He gave up everything for her and his group… even his humanity, but he had no regrets. The two sat down at the log as Zach sighed. "I hope the others are okay." Zach said.

"Me too." Clementine said. She looked to Zach with intrigue and said, "My parents are gone. I know that."

"We shouldn't give up on them Clem." Zach said. "They might still be out there. I didn't say that they were definitely gone when I heard the answer machine."

Clementine shook her head and said, "I saw them in the streets last night. That's part of the reason why I was panicking."

"Oh…" Zach said with a remorseful stare aimed at the girl. "I'm sorry honey."

"It's okay." Clementine said. She looked to him with pleading eyes and asked, "Could you be my new daddy?"

"What? Are you sure you want me?" Zach asked.

"Of course. I love you. You've been taking care of me since all of this happened." Clementine said with an affectionate smile aimed at Zach.

Zach smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be your adoptive daddy, then."

Clementine's smile grew and she said, "Thank you." She got up from the log and the two hugged. However, the hug didn't last. Zach looked up and noticed a figure approaching him and Clementine. He squinted his eyes to get a better glance, but the figure was still far away.

"Clem, we got company." The girl released her grip and got off of her adoptive father's lap. Zach got up and the young girl got behind him. He raised his revolver and hoped that the figure was friendly. He only had a couple of bullets left in his revolver. He huffed as the figure got closer. He drew back the hammer on the revolver and continued to wait…

**End of Season 1**

**A/N: Yeah, I know… it's just like Telltale's ending of Season 1. You don't know who's approaching Zach, but you'll find out soon. Onward to Season 2 where things get really messy.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Alright, Season 2… this one is going to be interesting. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

A flock of crows flew off as soon as the group of three walked through the forest to a clearing that was up ahead. Zach took the lead and looked across the highway with his revolver at the ready. "We're good." Zach said, and he gestured his family to move forward. Natalie walked out into the highway first followed by Clementine and finally Zach. Zach ran to catch up with Natalie and said, "I think we should give that Wellington place a try. It might be worth it."

"Zach, we don't know what that place is like. On top of that, Clem and I aren't exactly adept for the cold." Natalie said.

"But, we'll be safe." Zach said. "Trust me, I've been to Ohio. The place has some weird weather, but it does get warm there."

"And it gets very, very cold." Natalie said. "I just don't think we're ready for the trek up there. Let's wait till Clemmy is able to shoot, then we'll try."

"Sounds like a plan." Zach said. He looked back to his adopted daughter and asked, "You okay, sweetie."

"Yeah, I'm okay. So what's Ohio like?" Clementine asked.

"Well… good question." Zach said with a smirk. "Ohio has some of the weirdest weather I've ever seen. Some of the locals have coined the term Ohio weather. It could be raining and sunshine at the same time, and that's considered normal."

"That's weird." Clementine said.

Zach chuckled and said, "Yeah, it is. I hate to see what their snow is like."

"You and I both." Natalie said as the three approached the restrooms. "I'll take Clem inside and get her cleaned up if you can stay on guard."

"You got it." Zach said.

"Okay." Natalie said. She looked down to the six year old and grabbed her hand. "Come on, baby. Let's get you cleaned up." Natalie said in a soothing, motherly voice. The two walked inside as Zach stood guard. He was surprised how quickly Natalie had adjusted to her new role as Clementine's adoptive mother.

Zach's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a walker approaching him. He looked around for any scavengers or bandits before he walked over and slashed the top of its skull open. The walker fell to the ground with a thud which left Zach in silence. He looked back up to see the door to the restroom close.

"Shit." Zach muttered. He went for the door with his katana still at the ready.

Zach entered the bathroom and tried to shut the door himself so it wouldn't make any noise. All the while, he could hear some teenage girl ranting. "Don't move or I'll pop you and that bratty kid."

"Just calm down." Natalie said to reason with the girl.

"Shut it, bitch." The teenager snapped. Zach finally managed to close the door and he made his approach toward the teenager with his katana at the ready. "You know what?" The teenager said. She grabbed Clementine from Natalie's grip and continued, "I'll keep her at gunpoint so that you and the bozo outside don't get any fancy ideas."

Natalie looked on in fear as the teenager started to back away with Clementine who was now whimpering. "M-Mommy…" Clementine cried.

"Baby, just close your eyes." Natalie said. "Everything will be okay." The teenager smirked as she raised the handgun at Natalie, but as she did so, Zach swung his katana and beheaded the teenager. He had to slice high so he ended up slicing a small portion of the teenager's neck off. Clementine whimpered as the headless body fell behind her.

"Wh-?" Clementine asked and she started to turn around. However, she was stopped when Zach pushed her forward.

"It's okay baby girl. You're okay." Zach said. "You just need to close your eyes."

"Zach, I'm so sorry…" Natalie said.

"No, it's my fault. I went to deal with a walker that was getting too close. She must have slipped in while I dealt with it." Zach said. Zach turned the girl around and saw that her eyes were closed and that she was shaking. "Alright, keep your eyes closed till I say so."

"I… I will." Clementine said. Zach picked up the six year old and proceeded to carry her out of the bathroom.

"What about…?" Natalie said as she gestured to the teenager's head. Zach looked over to see both of the teenager's eyes were wide open. It was obvious that she was dead.

"Leave her." Zach said. "Anyone as heartless as her can stay that way for all I care." Zach looked to Natalie and noticed that she was afraid by what he said. Zach's anger died down and he leaned over to kiss the woman. They separated and Zach said, "You're okay. I will never hurt you. You got my word." Natalie nodded but her typical smile wasn't there. Zach knew that she lost a part of her innocence from the confrontation. He would have to double his efforts. The last thing he ever wanted was for his wife and adopted daughter to become like him. "Let's go." Zach said. Natalie nodded and the two adults left the bathroom with Clementine in Zach's arms.

**18 Months Later**

The fire sizzled and crackled as Zach continued to try and cook the weasel that Natalie managed to kill a couple of hours ago. It was dark now and the cold chilled air reminded him of how close winter was getting. He tried everything to keep the dying embers alive, but it wasn't working. He sighed as he got up and looked over to his wife and daughter.

Over the past couple of months, Natalie had gotten stronger. She was still afraid of heights, but she had grown to be a capable survivor. She wore a blue plaid long sleeve shirt under an orange hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black shoes. Despite brushing it almost every day, her long wavy hair still had a few wild strands.

As for Clementine, she now wore a white and purple striped long sleeve shirt under a purple shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of pink and grey shoes. She still wore her coveted hat that she received from her biological parents which contained a portion of her curly hair. Like Natalie, Clementine's hair was left long. The girl hadn't grown too much. She was still small and light enough for the adults to carry her. Additionally, Clementine had turned eight a week ago, so Zach and Natalie took turns in coaching the girl on how to shoot. As expected, she was a natural shot. She had a holster on her belt ever with an 8 mm handgun inside.

"It's no good. The wood's too wet to burn." Zach muttered. He was stressed out of his mind. Up north wasn't anything like the southern states. On top of the walkers, he had to worry about snow and rain at a moment's notice. "At this rate, we'll be having Mr. Weasel for breakfast."

"I can wait until then." Clementine said as she continued to draw on a piece of paper. Zach and Natalie were both successful in keeping the girl's innocence intact for the most part.

"There's not much else we can do, Zach." Natalie said.

Zach sighed and he said, "Yeah, I know. I just… wish that I could take care of my family."

"You're doing all you can." Natalie said.

Zach hummed in thought and said, "You know what? I could go out and try to get more wood. Stay here and keep the fire lit." Zach said. He went out into the forest before either his wife or daughter could protest to his actions.

* * *

He went through the forest and picked up several sticks. Each one was soaked from the rain that swept through the area a couple hours ago. He heard footsteps approaching from behind and he turned around to see his wife. "Natalie? You should be back at camp with Clem. She's not old enough to be on her own." Zach said.

"I know, but I've been needing to talk to you… in private." Natalie said.

"Okay…" Zach said. He waited for the woman to proceed. She seemed almost conflicted to talk to him.

"I'm… worried about you." Natalie said. "You put so much pressure on yourself to provide. And well, I think you need a nice evening to relax. I know I do." Natalie said as she approached Zach and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"You know that I can't… I don't want to get you infected." Zach said.

"That's why I got a little something for you." Natalie said and she pulled out a little white package. It was almost flat in the package. Natalie gave the package to Zach and allowed her husband to examine it.

Zach looked to what was in his hand and he smirked. "I guess I never thought about this." Zach said.

"Next time you, Clem, and I find a house, we'll put Clem to bed early and then we can start having fun." Natalie said.

Zach chuckled and said, "Be careful. I'm no slouch in bed."

"I have no doubt." Natalie said as she got on her tip-toes and kissed the man on the lips. He kissed her back as he delighted in the moment. Despite going through the apocalypse, the moments he had with his wife were always enjoyable. However, the two were interrupted when Zach heard a twig snap. Zach stopped and he looked around. "What's wrong?" Natalie asked.

"Someone's here." Zach said.

"That's right motherf*****." An African-American man said. Zach turned to have the man's handgun in his face. The scavenger was joined by two other men. One carried a hunting rifle while the other had a machete. "You're going to tell us everything." The African-American man said.

"This… what is this?" The man with hunting rifle exclaimed. "Where is the rest of your group?"

"It's just us." Natalie said.

"Bullshit!" The one armed with a machete exclaimed.

"She's lying!" The one armed with a hunting rifle exclaimed.

"Cut the crap!" The African-American man said as he aimed at Natalie. "There's no way you two could survive on your own."

Zach went for his katana but he was stopped by the scavenger with hunting rifle. "Make one more move f***** and I will kill you."

"You better start talking; otherwise, your little woman here is going to have her face blown off." The African-American man said.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot that sounded out. The African-American man yelled out in pain as his arm tensed up. "Daddy, mommy run!" Zach and Natalie heard from the distance. It was their daughter. She must have covered for them.

"Hey!" The bandit with the machete exclaimed. He ran after the girl as Zach drew his katana.

"Don't move-!" The bandit with hunting rifle said as he aimed at Zach. However, the marine stabbed the bandit in the chest. The bandit howled in pain and blood started to come out of his mouth. Zach looked over and saw his wife shoot the other scavenger to finish him off. Zach withdrew his blade and allowed the scavenger to fall to the ground.

"Should we…?" Natalie said in a gesture to finish off the man.

"No." Zach said. "We don't have time. Come on." Zach said as he ran through the woods. Zach looked around for any clues on where Clementine and her pursuer had gone too. "This way." Zach said as he followed a set of footprints. He ran over to where a fallen tree was and where a dead walker laid. Zach continued to look around, but he knew which direction to go when he heard his adopted daughter.

"Leave me alone!" Clementine's voice echoed throughout the forest. Zach's and Natalie's eyes widened and the two ran for the direction of their daughter's voice. Zach and Natalie ran to the source of the yelling and struggling, but they were both cut off by walkers. Zach drew his katana and sliced the walkers to bits. He opted to either slashing at the walker's head or beheading the walker. He huffed as he finished with only a couple of walkers remaining. The two walkers were too wrapped up with eating the last scavenger that got the jump on Zach and Natalie. They looked around for the girl, but saw no sign of her. Zach went to the edge of the clearing and saw a river flowing below.

"Dammit. She must have fallen in. We're going to have to go find her." Zach said.

Natalie was worried. Her eyes teared up and her whole body shook. "She's-She's never been on her own… My gosh, Zach."

"I know. I know." Zach said as he hugged Natalie. "We're going to find her. I promise."

**Hours Later**

Zach and Natalie continued their trek through the woods in search of their adopted daughter. Both were quite tired since they only got a few hours of sleep. They didn't want to sleep especially when their daughter was separated from them, but their bodies craved for some sleep. They continued to walk through the woods as a chilled air howled by.

"How are you holding up?" Zach asked his wife while he looked to the ground. He had picked up on Clementine's trail near a boardwalk, but now… it looked somewhat scattered. It was as if there was another set of footprints along with hers.

"I'm okay." Natalie said. "You seemed confused."

"That's because I am." Zach said. "Along with Clementine's footprints, there's a smaller set of footprints, and it looks like Clementine started heading back to the boardwalk. This isn't making any sense." He got up and looked to his wife. He hoped that she could provide an explanation.

"Maybe she felt safer near the river." Natalie said.

"Maybe…" Zach said.

"Get back here!" Natalie and Zach heard an angry exclamation sound. Zach reached for his katana as Natalie pulled out her handgun. Without a word, the two ran toward the source of the yelling. Zach could tell that the one yelling was around his age, and he was worried. The mysterious man could be after his daughter.

The two stopped upon seeing two children run out of the bushes. The two adults were out of the children's sight. One was a young boy around Clementine's age with shaggy brown hair. He wore a green hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair a black shoes. The other child was younger and appeared to be three or four. It was a young girl with shoulder-length brown hair. She wore a red hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of brown shoes with a pink trim and logo on them. Zach stopped Natalie as the younger girl tripped.

"Kweith!" The girl exclaimed with her arms out toward the boy. The boy went back for her but an unknown man ran out of the bushes and grabbed the girl first.

"Please, don't hurt her." The boy begged.

The man smirked with an evil smile as he held the frightened toddler against his chest. He pulled out a knife and placed it against her throat. "You should have listened to me." The man said. "Now, I'm going to have my fun with her. After that, I'm going to slit her throat and make you watch her turn. That'll be a good punishment for evading me."

Zach looked to Natalie and gestured her to walk over to the boy to make sure he wouldn't see Zach killing the man.

Meanwhile the toddler in the man's arms whimpered from having a knife against her throat. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who the f*** are you bitch?" The man inquired as Natalie approached Keith.

"Let her go now." Natalie said. Zach was finally behind the man and had his katana raised to stab him from behind. As much as Zach wanted to make the man suffer for his wicked ways, saving the baby was the top priority.

"No, how about you go back to whatever rock you've been under or she dies?" The man said. Zach gestured to Natalie to turn the boy around. His wife obliged and Zach stabbed the stranger in the head. All at once, the baby and the knife were dropped to the ground.

The toddler grunted from hitting the ground before she sobbed some more. Zach pulled his katana out of the mysterious man's head and allowed the body to fall to the ground. Natalie ran over to the toddler on the ground and picked her up. "Sh… it's okay, baby. You're okay." Natalie said to soothe the tearful toddler. Zach turned his attention to the young boy who was looking back and forth between the aggressive unknown man and the toddler in Natalie's arms.

Zach sheathed his katana and approached the young boy. He knelt down to his height as the boy started to back away. Zach looked to the boy with a perplexed stare as the boy looked to him with fear in his eyes. "You're… You're not going to hurt us, are you?" The boy asked.

"Of course not." Zach said. He gave a smile to the boy and said, "My name's Zachary Griffith, but you can just call me Zach. The only person that calls me Zachary is my wife when I get into trouble."

"Which happens a lot." Natalie said with a teasing smile. The boy giggled at the joking comradery of the two adults as the toddler in Natalie's arms started to calm down.

The boy looked back to Zach with a smile and said, "My name's Keith and that's my baby sister, Madeline."

"Madeline, huh?" Natalie said as she looked into the toddler's eyes. "That's a very pretty name."

"Thanks. What's your name?" Madeline asked.

"My name's Natalie." Natalie said.

"So where are your parents?" Zach asked. "You two can't be by yourselves out here."

Keith looked down with a frown as Madeline started to whimper again. Natalie hugged the toddler close to her and tried to comfort her by bobbing her in her arms. "They're… gone." Keith said with a frown.

"I'm so sorry." Zach said. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder as Keith started to cry. He tried to hold back his whimpers, but the tears kept coming down his face. Zach pulled Keith close to him and hugged the boy while rubbing his back. "I know. I know." Zach said as the boy started release all of the hurt that he must have endured. He must have had to stay strong for his baby sister. Zach picked up the boy and carried him in his arms. Surprisingly, the boy allowed the older man to do so. Keith must have trusted Zach. Zach looked to Natalie and said, "Well, we better keep moving. It's not healthy for these two to be around a dead body like that."

"Yeah… good point. So, how close are we to finding her?" Natalie asked.

"Finding who?" Madeline asked. The two adults looked to the girl who had calmed down from the questioning of her deceased parents.

"Our daughter, sweetie. She's about the same age as your big brother." Natalie said. Keith had also calmed down from his saddened state. His whimpering had died down, and he was now resting his head on Zach's shoulder. Zach didn't mind carrying the boy. He still carried his daughter and she was the same age as the young boy. Plus, Keith was about as light as Clementine.

"We should be getting close in finding her." Zach said. He turned around and started to walk down the path again. He kept an eye on the ground. Since he knew that some of the footprints belonged to Keith, Zach knew that following the other set of footprints that were leading away from the boardwalk belonged to his daughter. He followed them with Natalie and Madeline behind him. The younger was surprisingly quiet. Usually, toddlers were noisy, but Madeline must have been preoccupied.

Zach's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Keith. "I'm okay now. You can put me down." Zach smiled to the boy and placed him on the ground. Keith looked down almost ashamed by his prior actions and said, "I'm sorry. I probably made you uncomfortable."

"Keith, you're okay. You've been through a lot." Zach said. "You don't need to apologize for anything."

"He's right, sweetie. It helps having a shoulder to cry on every once in a while." Natalie said.

Keith smiled to the two adults and said, "Thanks. I'm glad you found us."

"Yeah, you is nice." Madeline said.

"Thanks honey." Natalie said. "So how old are you, Madeline?" Zach continued forward with his wife and the two children following him.

"I this many." Madeline said with a cheery voice. Zach looked back to see the toddler hold up four fingers.

"Four years old. That is amazing, Madeline." Natalie said.

"She turned four about a month ago." Keith said.

"Really?" Natalie said. "That's funny. Clementine's birthday was only a week ago."

"Is Clementine your daughter?" Keith asked.

"Yeah. Zach found her at the age of five when all of this happened." Natalie explained. "He saved her."

"She's saved my life quite a few times as well." Zach said. "Her full name is Clementine, but we shorten it to Clem. She's eight right now."

"I'm eight too." Keith said.

"I thought so. You and she seem to be at the same height." Natalie said. Zach continued forward until he was staring at a nearby camp. He looked down and noticed that Clementine's footprints went towards the camp. He held his arm out to stop Natalie and the two children. "What's wrong?" Natalie asked.

"Clem's footprints lead to that camp." Zach said. "I'm going to go scout it out. Can you stay with Keith and Madeline?"

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on them." Natalie said.

"Thanks." Zach said and he approached the camp. He reached for his katana and looked around for any signs of walkers or humans. He entered the camp and he looked around for any signs of danger. He noticed an abandoned van which seemed rusted. It must have been in the camp for a while. He continued to look around and noticed that the camp was destroyed. Pots and pans laid all over camp along with empty food cans. He also saw a couple of tents. Both were unusable; one was burnt, while the other laid in a shattered and destroyed state. The shattered tent caught his eye. He saw a dead dog which had been impaled by the poles of the tent. Zach checked the dog and noticed that the throat of the dog was cut. It must have been a mercy kill so the dog wouldn't suffer. Zach looked around and noticed more of Clementine's footprints and some traces of blood. "This isn't good." Zach muttered.

He got up and went toward Natalie and the two children. "It's clear, but there's a problem."

"Wh-What is it?" Natalie asked. Her eyes widened and a worried expression formed on her face.

Zach huffed and said, "There's a dead dog in the camp and some sign of a struggle. I think that dog attacked Clem and she was forced to put it out of its misery. She must have kicked it back and sent it into a shattered tent."

"Why that bad?" Madeline asked. "She s okay."

"It's bad because the walkers will be able to smell her blood and they'll find her." Zach said.

"Walkers?" Madeline asked with a confused look on her face.

"Walkers are the same thing as lurkers." Keith said. He turned to the two adults and said, "We call them lurkers instead of walkers."

"Oh okay… that s bad." Madeline said.

"Okay… so is there a trail we can follow to find her?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah. It keeps going further into the forest." Zach said.

"Um… I kinda hungry." Madeline said.

Zach smirked at the toddler confession and said, "I think we all are. I wish we could sit down to eat, but the situation's gotten worse."

"Yeah, you're right about that." Natalie said as she slipped off her backpack. "Here sweetie. I think I have some crackers in here." Natalie said as she rummaged through her backpack. She pulled out two packs of crackers and handed them to the two children.

"Thank you." Madeline said in a cheery voice before she opened the package and started to eat its content.

"Yeah, thank you." Keith said.

"You're welcome." Natalie said as she placed her backpack on. She nodded to Zach as an indication that they were ready to move on.

Zach nodded back and he proceeded through the camp with the two children behind him and Natalie behind them. Zach wish he could rest and allow the children to play or rest for a while, but with what he learned back in the camp, he had to find Clementine immediately.

Zach proceeded further into the forest as he noticed that Keith and Madeline were no longer munching on their crackers. Zach smirked and said, "I guess you two were hungry."

"I was… a little." Madeline said.

"I know I was. That helped though." Keith said.

Suddenly, Zach could hear growling and he noticed a few walkers approaching them. "Natalie, we got company."

Natalie joined Zach and drew her gun. Zach placed his hand on her arm and said, "We can't shoot them. It'll only bring more." Zach said.

"Okay, but I don't think I can take them with my knife." Natalie said.

"Just do what you can. Let me handle most of them." Zach said. He unsheathed his katana and slashed at the first couple of walkers. Natalie stayed back and waited for her opportunity to help her husband. The opportunity soon arose as a walker limped toward his right. She ran up and stabbed the walker with her knife.

Zach hacked at a couple more walkers as the last walker approached Keith and Madeline. Zach withdrew his sword and went to deal with the last walker, but he stopped when he saw Keith pull back on his slingshot. He fired the projectile which must have stunned the walker. It fell back and landed on the ground, but it wasn't moving. Zach took a better look and saw that the creature was unresponsive and one of its eyes had a small hole in it.

Zach looked up to see Keith lowering his slingshot. "You both okay?" Natalie asked as she walked over to rejoin the group.

"Yeah, we're okay." Keith said as Madeline nodded her head in confirmation.

"That was amazing, Keith." Zach said. "I didn't know you were so good with a slingshot."

"Yeah… I used to shoot cans with it, but when everything happened, I decided to use it against the walkers." Keith said.

"Well, good job." Zach said.

"Thanks." Keith said.

Zach looked back down and noticed a new set of footprints which took the place of his daughter's. He also noticed some other dead walkers. Three of them had arrow bolts in their skulls, while the fourth was missing its head. "Looks like some folks found Clem." Zach said. "They must have saved her and ran off." Zach started to follow the new footprints with his wife and accompanying children following him.

He kept following the footprints more and more as evening started to come. He couldn't give up in finding her. He had to make sure that she was okay. It was a good thing that whoever took her left a good trail. Finally, the footprints led to a ledge and he had to stop. He looked up and saw a rather large cabin.

"You think Clem and the people that helped her went in that cabin?" Natalie asked.

Zach pondered on her question before he said, "It's our best guess. I don't think there's another building for miles and only a fool would pass up on a place like that." He turned to Natalie and said, "Let's go check it out." Natalie nodded and gestured for Keith and Madeline to move. The two children obliged as Zach walked down the flat hills that flanked the sides of the cliff. Natalie followed and the two helped Keith and Madeline to keep their balance while they descended down.

The four continued until they reached the clearing where the cabin stood. Zach looked to Natalie and said, "I'm going to check out the cabin alone. Stay here with the kids, okay?"

"Okay, just be careful." Natalie said.

"I will babe." Zach said. He leaned in to kiss her until he heard Madeline's protests.

"Eww… that gross." Madeline complained which made the two adults smirk and Keith chuckle.

"I guess we're overdue for a chaperon." Zach said.

"I guess so." Natalie said with a smirk.

Zach's smirk fell and he said, "I'll be back in a few minutes." Natalie nodded in response. Zach turned his attention to the cabin and approached it in a crouched position. He grabbed his revolver and hoped that the occupants were somewhat friendly. He walked up the stair and approached the door. He place his ear against the front door to hear any voices. He could hear some, but they were muffled.

Zach opened the door slowly and entered the cabin. It was lit up by some candles and showed an impressive set up for a living room. It actually had some comfortable furniture inside. After sleeping on the dirt for months, Zach has longed for a bed to sleep on. He turned his head toward a door. He could hear several voices behind the door. Zach approached it while staying in his crouched position. He cracked the door open and looked inside to what appeared to be a kitchen and dining room. There must have been at least five people inside.

"We should kill her. She'll only cause problems for us." A foreign sounding man said.

"This is a little girl we're talking about, alright? It deserves more consideration than just a few minutes of our time." A young man said. Zach's eyes widened upon hearing the voice. He recognized that voice, but it had been years since he heard it.

"She's bit! Why are we talking about this?" Another young man said. Zach also recognized his voice. The two young men were lost friends. They were friends that he hadn't seen in a long time.

Zach got upright and entered the kitchen and dining room. "What the f***?" An African-American woman exclaimed upon seeing Zach. She appeared to be pregnant.

"Who are you?" The foreign man asked as he pulled out his handgun and aimed at Zach.

Zach glared at the man before he looked to his old friends. The two friends were stunned to see him once again and they were left speechless. "Luke… Nick…" Zach said.

The group members looked back and forth among the three former friends. "Wait… you know him?" The foreign man asked.

"Zach… is that you?" Luke asked.

A smirk formed on Zach's face and he said, "Yeah, it's me… How long has it been since we've seen each other?"

"Been too long." Luke said. He walked up and shook Zach's hand. Zach looked over to Nick but he only received a glare from the young man.

"I guess some things never change." Zach said. "You still mad at me for leaving?"

"What do you think, f*****?" Nick hissed.

"Hey, come on, Nick. Don't be like that." Luke said.

"We want answers." The foreign man said as he approached with his handgun being shoved in Zach's face. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"Get that gun out of my face or I will kill you." Zach said with an irritated tone in his voice.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down." Luke said. "Carlos, this is Zach. He used to go to the same school as Nick and I did. He's an alright guy."

"Alright? This f***** left us!" Nick exclaimed.

"Nick! Now is not the time for this!" Luke exclaimed.

"You knew my heritage." Zach said. "I informed you multiple times of my intentions of joining the marines. I also told you that I couldn't stay in the town we grew up in."

"How do we know he's not working with Carver?" Carlos asked.

"I know Zach. He would never ally with someone like him." Luke said.

"Oh please. It has been two years since the lurkers. Anything can happen during that time." The pregnant woman said.

"She's right. We can't trust him. We'll have to kill him." Carlos said.

"Now hold up. Let's think this through." Luke said.

"Look, I'm just looking for my little girl." Zach said. "Her name's Clementine. She's a mixed eight year old. She's a bit small for her age and has some wild curly hair."

All eyes widened upon hearing Zach's details of his daughter and Luke said, "Wait… we got a little girl in the shed right now. Pete and I found her trying to get away from the lurkers."

"She's in a shed?" Zach inquired with intense anger lacing his voice.

"We… we didn't know if she was telling us the truth when it came to her bite." Luke explained. He was actually afraid of seeing Zach angry.

"She was bit by some lurker. We all know that." Nick said.

"Look, maybe she was telling us the truth. We couldn't make out the bite that's why we put her in the shed." An older man said.

"Come on, Uncle Pete. You really think a dog bit her?" Nick inquired.

"Actually, that's exactly what happened." Zach said. He was holding back his anger, but he was still furious with the group's incompetence. "There's an abandoned camp a little ways from here. I found a dead dog there with traces of blood and a struggle."

"Are we actually going to believe this bullshit?" The pregnant woman asked.

"Believe what you want. I'm going to go get my daughter, then you won't have to worry about us ever again." Zach said as he headed for the door that he used to enter.

"Stop right there." Carlos said as he aimed the handgun to Zach's head. "You won't be leaving here alive."

"Carlos, what the f***?" Luke exclaimed.

"We can't trust him. We have to kill him." Carlos said.

"Maybe we can imprison him till we know we can trust him." The pregnant woman said.

"I'm not taking my chances." Carlos said. His finger got closer and closer to the trigger until Zach grabbed his arm and twisted it. Carlos growled in pain as he tried to break free from Zach's grip, but it was no use. The marine was too strong. Zach thrusted him into the wall and pushed his face into it. Zach growled as his sociopathic anger took over. He drew his arm back and beat Carlos in the face. His punch was so strong that a hole in the wall was formed. Zach punched Carlos again as a smirk formed on his face. He was delighted by hearing Carlos groan in pain. He even started to see blood.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Ah… it's beautiful to see such a magnificent cliffhanger… it's not my best, but I just wanted to remind you all of my cliffhangers. Anyway… I got a final disclaimer to do.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Madeline Carver. She belongs to FanFic Productions. Thanks for letting me borrow her, dude. Just like Keith and Clem, Maddie's age is altered in this. She's supposed to be eight years old**.

**Also, Zach's apparel for Season 2, if anyone's interested, is a black hooded sweatshirt over a black shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of brown boots.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Well, just when you thought that you couldn't hate Carlos any more than you already did, I have come to surprise you. Carlos is going to be at an all-time low… at least in my Fics… I'm sure there's Fics out there that makes him the scumbag of the millennium. Anyway, it will start near the end of this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Madeline "Maddie" Carver. She belongs to FanFic Productions. Also, a big shout-out goes to FanFic Productions for helping me with quite a few ideas for this Fic and the rewrite of SoT, which will be released after AWR is finished.**

**Make sure that you guys read his Fics. They're really awesome. He's got quite a few awesome ideas.**

"Zach… Zach stop!" Luke exclaimed, but Zach couldn't hear his former friend anymore. He wanted nothing more than to eliminate the threat that Carlos imposed. He enjoyed the thrill that was provided in killing and the foreign man's blood only fueled him in continuing. Why talk someone down when you could just beat his face in. "You have to stop!" Luke exclaimed. Zach felt himself being pulled from his helpless prey, but he turned his head and pushed Luke aside with one strong push.

Zach then saw Nick and a stocky African-American man run over to help the foreign man, but Zach wasn't in any mood to relent. He felt searing anger towards Nick and decided to punch him in the face which resulted in him falling to the ground with a pained yell. The stocky man tried to pin Zach down but he was overpowered by the former marine. The stocky man was quite strong, but Zach still forced him to the ground.

"Alvin!" The pregnant woman exclaimed and she ran to the man. Alvin was unharmed since Zach merely forced him to the ground without throwing punches

Zach looked to Alvin and said, "You're strong, but without any aggression, that strength is useless." He turned back to the foreign man who was using the hole in the wall to remain standing. His face was swollen and one of his eyes were black. Blood poured from his nose as he looked to Zach with his one good eye. "I guess we aren't finished here." Zach said as he approached Carlos.

However, Zach could hear faint footsteps from behind. He quickly turned and kicked the back of Pete's leg which made him shout out in pain. He fell on his knees while soothing his sore leg. "Not a bad approach to take down a younger and stronger individual, but you can't rely solely on stealth. You have to think of all possibilities and their outcomes."

Having no one rise against him, Zach turned his attention to Carlos once again. The man huffed as he reached for a nearby knife on the counter, but Zach swatted it away and delivered another hard punch to the man's face. Carlos grunted in pain as he fell to the ground while a gasp could be heard. Zach turned his head in the direction of the gasp and saw a young girl standing at the doorway. Her hands were over her mouth while her eyes looked to Carlos with concern and to Zach with fear. She wore a pair of red-rimmed glasses, a light blue jacket with a black shirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black boots. The girl didn't look very old. She looked slightly older than Clementine.

She looked to Zach and said, "Please… please don't hurt my dad."

Zach huffed upon hearing that Carlos was a father. He had more rage in him now than what he had before. He looked to Carlos with a glare and exclaimed, "You're a father? How could you throw my daughter into a shed to die? Would you have liked it if someone did that to your daughter?"

"I have… nothing… to say to you." Carlos said.

Zach shook his head in distaste and said, "Your daughter just saved your life today. I never walk away and let someone live, especially after they put a gun in my face."

"Just go…!" Carlos snapped.

"Actually, let's help him and his family out." Alvin said.

"Alvin… think about what you're saying." The pregnant woman said.

"Look, you could have beaten me senseless, but you didn't." Alvin said as he looked to Zach.

Zach crossed his arms over his chest and said, "I didn't have a reason to."

The majority of the group got up while Nick was left unconscious on the floor. "I think it's best if you leave." The pregnant woman said with a scowl on her face.

"I disagree. We need someone like him. He took us all down without having to draw a firearm, and he has military experience. We'll need that." Pete said.

"We can't trust him. Look what he did to Nick and Carlos!" The pregnant woman exclaimed.

"I trust him. He was an old friend of mine back then." Luke said.

"Come on, Bec. He has a family." Alvin said.

"We'll discuss it in the morning." Zach said. "Right now, I want to get my daughter. My wife is waiting for me at the forest's edge. I left her out there for too long."

"Yeah okay. We'll let you and your family spend the night and the next day, then we'll take a vote on whether we would want you to join the group." Luke said. "Come on, I'll take you to your daughter."

"I will… not allow this." Carlos said. He tried to get up as the young girl sat in front of him to make sure that he was okay.

"You're in no position to do anything about it, so get used to it." Zach said.

Luke gestured Zach to follow him and the two men walked outside. Zach looked over to where his wife and the two children were and noticed that they were watching him. He gestured them to walk over and join him.

"I see my wife. She's going to come join us." Zach said.

"Yeah, okay." Luke said as he looked over in the direction that Zach was staring at. Luke's eyes widened upon seeing Natalie and the two children.

"You guys okay?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, we're okay." Natalie said. "What's going on?"

"This is an old friend of mine. We met back in high school." Zach said as he gestured to Luke. "Natalie, this is Luke." Zach turned to his surprised friend who kept his eyes on the two children that were accompanying Natalie. "What is it?" Zach asked.

Luke looked to Zach and said, "Those kids… they belong to William Carver."

"Okay… I'm going to assume that is a bad thing." Zach said.

"That is a very bad thing." Luke said. "Carver's been after me and my group for quite a while."

"It shouldn't be a problem." Natalie said. "Keith said that their parents are gone so Carver shouldn't be after you anymore."

"Well actually…" Keith said which caught the adults' attention. The boy looked down with a nervous look and said, "Our mom and step-dad are gone." He looked up and said, "I didn't mean to lie to you, but I don't consider William Carver as my dad anymore and neither does Maddie."

"He really mean." Madeline said.

"It's okay, honey. At least, we know now." Natalie said.

"Look… I don't think my group will welcome y'all now. Keith and Madeline are good kids, but my group is really stressed out over Carver." Luke said.

"The way I see it, if your group has a complaint about these kids, they can take it up with me." Zach said.

"Not everything is solved with violence." Luke said as he gave a scowl toward Zach.

"I wouldn't have attacked any of you if you would have kept that Carlos guy in line." Zach said.

Luke huffed and said, "Alright, I'm going to unlock the shed door for ya. Just… be ready just in case, she's already turned."

"Alright but I'm telling you that it's probably a dog bite." Zach said.

Luke went to the shed doors and opened the door to reveal a small girl curled up in a ball. She was trying to get some form of warmth from the position that she was in. Zach and Natalie knew who she was immediately. Natalie crouched down and picked up the girl.

Natalie felt the girl's head with her hand and said, "She's warm."

Clementine's eyes fluttered open and she looked around. Her vision must have been blurry since she looked over Zach and Natalie a couple times without saying anything. Finally, the girl looked to the two adults and said, "Mommy, daddy."

"Hi baby. You okay?" Natalie said to the girl.

Clementine shook her head and said, "A dog bit me, but no one believed me."

"It's okay honey. We're here now, and we're going to help you get better." Natalie said. She used one arm and gently pulled the girl's sleeve back. "I need some light, Zach."

"You got it." Zach said. He took off his backpack and pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. He moved the flashlight to Clementine's arm and the wound became visible.

Natalie looked at the wound with a perplexed stare and said, "This is definitely not a walker bite."

"Wait, what? How can you be sure?" Luke asked. He looked confused upon hearing Natalie's analysis.

"I was studying to be a doctor before the apocalypse." Natalie said. "I got a degree in nursing. I know what a human chomp looks like. This bite is too long and narrow to be from a walker bite. It's more like a dog bite."

Luke appeared unsure of whether to take the woman's words. "But Carlos said he wasn't sure." Luke said.

"I have a feeling that Carlos is only in this for his own gains." Zach said. "You saw what he was like in there. He had a gun to my head just because I was going to leave and get Clem. He probably put Clem in this shed so that she wouldn't get close to his daughter."

"Do you even know how crazy that sounds? That doesn't make any sense." Luke said.

"Because you don't want to believe that one of your friends tried to kill a child, is that it?" Zach asked.

"Luke, I know what I'm talking about." Natalie said as she got up with the eight year old in her arms. "Look at this bite. Does this look like a walker bite? Have you ever seen a bite like this?"

"I… I-I… no. No, I haven't seen a lurker bite like that before." Luke said. "I guess… it is a dog bite, but I think you're wrong about Carlos. He has done questionable things, but he would never try to kill a kid."

"I guess we'll wait and see." Zach said.

"Anyway, I ought to tell my group that Clementine is bitten by a dog of some sort and not by a walker, and I also got to tell them about Keith and Maddie." Luke said as he started to make his way for the cabin.

"Thanks Luke." Zach said. Luke paused in his approach toward the cabin and turned his head toward Zach.

"No problem." Luke said and he continued toward the cabin.

Zach turned his head toward Natalie and Clementine who seemed distant and tired. "Let's get her inside the cabin. I'll give her some morphine to numb the pain." Natalie said.

"You got everything you need?" Zach asked.

"As always." Natalie said.

"Alright, I'll watch over Keith and Maddie while you're with her." Zach said. He looked back to Keith and Madeline and he walked over to the sleepy four year old. Madeline looked like she was ready to fall asleep. Zach bent down and picked up the girl and carried her toward the cabin while Keith walked next to him. Zach felt the boy's hand in his free hand which was an indication that the boy must have been scared to go inside. Zach tightened his grip on the boy's hand in an attempt to comfort him as they got closer to the door.

Zach released his grip and opened the door so that Natalie could enter with Clementine. The two adults entered and they could hear faint arguing from the kitchen. "What's going on in there?" Natalie asked.

"I think they're arguing. This group is way too dysfunctional." Zach said. "If they want to survive, then they need to start helping each other."

Suddenly, the door opened with Carlos and the pregnant woman stomping towards Zach. "You get out of here, NOW!" Carlos snapped while being in Zach's face. Zach felt Madeline shake in his grip, and he placed the girl on the ground so that she wouldn't be yelled at by Carlos. The foreign man had a few bandages over his nose and cheeks to help with the bleeding from the earlier beating.

"Do you recall what happened a few minutes ago?" Zach inquired as he stood upright. Madeline joined her brother and got behind the marine.

"Enough!" Luke exclaimed as he got between Carlos and Zach. "Like it or not, they're staying." Luke said to Carlos and Rebecca.

"This is bullshit!" Rebecca snapped.

"I will not allow this!" Carlos snapped.

"Well too bad." Zach said. "I didn't want to do this, but you aren't leaving me much choice. You either let me in or you can all say good bye to this place. I will kick you guys out. I was able to take you all down without using a firearm, but I will use it if you're going to give us issues."

The two hostile adults' eyes widened upon hearing his words. "You wouldn't." Carlos said.

Zach drew his revolver and said, "I would."

"You can't. I'm pregnant." Rebecca said with shock in her voice.

Zach aimed the revolver at Rebecca and said, "I don't care. If you don't bother my wife or the kids, then we won't have problems." Rebecca was horrified that the marine wasn't hesitant to shoot her.

"Let's just calm down, alright?" Luke asked.

There were several moments of hesitation before Carlos relaxed and said, "Fine. We'll allow this arrangement… for now, but if Carver comes, we'll all know who to blame. We will kill you, your family, and those kids."

"Good luck with that." Zach said as he placed his revolver in its holster.

Carlos stormed off for the kitchen while Rebecca walked away from Zach with a horrified look on her face. Her previous anger was gone and was replaced by fear.

Zach turned to Luke and Natalie who both gave him a glare. "Why would you threaten to kill her baby? That seemed to go too far." Natalie said.

"Intimidation is the last thing I ever want to use, but sometimes, it is necessary. I'm not going to kill her unborn child, but she needed to understand that she can't snap at everyone." Zach said. He turned to Luke and said, "I don't know how you and your people have made it this far. This group is easily the most dysfunctional group I've ever seen. I've seen scavengers work together better than what I've seen in this group and that's saying something."

"Look, we all have our differences… that's what makes us strong." Luke said.

"Differences help you in the short-term. What happens when you put a group of people in a situation and they all have different ideas of taking on a problem, like the walkers out there? In most cases, those people die. You're group needs a leader, and I think I can take on that position. I got military experience, survival skills, and the patience to deal with some of their antics."

"We'll see. Right now, why don't you guys relax for the night?" Luke said.

"Sounds good. I need to stitch up Clementine's arm." Natalie said.

"Okay. I'll take you to my room and you can stitch her arm up there." Luke said.

Natalie nodded and she followed the young man upstairs. Zach was left to taking care of the two Carver children. He turned to Keith and Madeline and said, "So, who wants to hear a bed time story?" Zach asked with a kind smile on his face.

"I do!" Madeline exclaimed.

"Me too." Keith said.

"Alright, Come on. We'll sleep on the couch." Zach said. He took hold of Madeline's hand and led her and Keith to the couch. Zach took his backpack off and pulled out a blanket that he would usually wrap around Clementine, but he knew that she was probably comfortable in where she was sleeping at. Zach sat down first and pulled Madeline up onto his lap. The girl was like Clementine in many respects including the fact that she liked to snuggle up on someone's lap. Meanwhile, Keith leaned on Zach's shoulder and snuggled up to him in his own way. Zach covered up the two with the blanket and cradled Madeline so she would sleep better.

"Okay, so what story do you two want to hear?" Zach asked.

"Hmm… I don't know." Madeline said.

"Mommy usually read from a book." Keith said.

"Well, I usually just go off the top of my mind for Clem. One that she really likes is about a young princess named Kara Kahn. Of course, I'll have to cut it short since it's way past your bedtimes." Zach said. He cleared his throat so that he was more prepared to explain the story. "Kara was a fair and kind princess. She traveled across the land and learned that her brother was being controlled by an evil sword."

"That bad." Madeline said with her eyes fluttering. The toddler was already on the verge of sleeping.

"Yeah it is, but because Kara had a strong bond with her brother, she was willing to do anything to destroy the evil sword."

"She and her brother were like me and Keith. We care about each other." Madeline said.

Zach chuckled and said, "Yeah, I noticed that. You two don't fight like siblings, do you?"

Madeline smiled and shook her head. Zach believed her. He saw how Keith ran back to help his baby sister in the forest even if it meant putting his own life in danger. "You two certainly are special. I don't see many kids who like their siblings." Zach said. He then huffed and continued with the story. "Eventually, Kara found a magical sword and was able to free her brother. With the evil sword's curse broken, the brother and sister duo were able to live happily ever after." Zach knew that Keith had passed out on his shoulder. At the moment, he noticed that Madeline was more like deadweight in his arms. He looked down to see that the toddler was asleep. A smirk formed on Zach's lips and he said, "The end."

Zach leaned back against the sofa and went to sleep as well. He was exhausted by the day's events, but he was also happy. Things seem to be working out… so far.

**Morning**

Zach opened his eyes and looked down to see that Madeline was starting to wake up. He could tell that it was late morning since the room was lit up by the sun. Madeline whined a little and looked to Zach. "I have to go potty." Madeline said.

"Okay." Zach said. He looked over to see Keith who had just woken up. "I got to run your sister to the bathroom. Will you be alright here?" Zach asked the boy.

Keith nodded and Zach immediately got up from the couch. He carried the four year old upstairs and allowed her to walk upon reaching the final step. He looked around as Madeline shifted from one foot to the other. Finally, Zach was able to find the bathroom, and he rushed inside while dragging Madeline along.

Several minutes later, the two walked out with Madeline looking to Zach with a thankful stare. "Thank you." Madeline said.

"You're welcome, hon." Zach said. "Let's see if we can get some breakfast." He headed for the stairs with the four year old following close behind. Zach could hear some light bumps from behind him which indicated that the four year old was climbing down the stairs by dropping down on her bottom from each step. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Zach looked over to see Keith still at the couch but he had a notebook in his hand and a pencil in the other.

Madeline ran to him and sat down next to him. "What you drawing?" Madeline asked.

Keith chuckled at his sister as she leaned in to get a better look. Zach walked over as he could hear voices from within the kitchen. It meant that he and the children weren't the only ones awake. Zach joined the two to see a drawing that Keith was working on. It was obvious that the boy was experienced for his age. The drawing was well detailed and was similar to what Clementine could do.

"I tried to draw Sora, but I don't think it looks like him." Keith said.

"Who Sora?" Madeline asked.

"Yeah, even I don't know who that is." Zach said as he looked at the drawing.

"He's the main character in a video game called Kingdom Hearts." Keith said. He looked to Madeline and said, "You were too young to remember at the time."

"Oh… okay." Madeline said.

"He looks like a goofy kid." Zach said with a chuckle.

"He is. He can be pretty funny to watch." Keith said as he placed the drawing down.

"You ready to get something to eat?" Zach asked the boy.

"Yeah, I am kind of hungry." Keith said. The boy got off the couch with his baby sister following his movements. Zach went ahead of them and entered the kitchen first. He saw all of Luke's group inside the kitchen. Carlos and Nick looked to Zach with both having a glare expressed in their features. However, Nick's glare transitioned to the two children that were with Zach.

"What the f*** are they doing here?" Nick spat. Zach noticed that they young man had a bruised cheek which was where he had hit him last night.

"They're with me." Zach said.

"They're not staying here. What on f****** Earth were you thinking in having them with you?" Nick exclaimed.

"I was thinking that they were just a couple of defenseless kids. Can't you see that?" Zach said.

"No, I can't. They're Carver's f****** kids." Nick said.

"And why would that matter?" Zach asked.

"I don't need to explain why. Just get them out of here." Nick spat as he started to approach the two children. Both children went behind Zach for cover as the former marine stared Nick down. "Out of my way." Nick said.

"I'm not going to let you hurt these kids and let's face the facts. I can beat you unconscious easily. So, deal with it or leave. It doesn't make any difference to me." Zach said with a cold, heartless tone in his voice.

Nick's glare softened and he said, "So those kids are more important to you than our old friendship, huh?"

"That's entirely up to you. I don't make your decisions for you. You chose to give me shit last night because I did exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to serve my country like my dad. You knew that. Luke knew that. I told you countless times that I was going to join the military and that it was highly unlikely that I would ever see you two again." Zach said.

Nick's glare returned and he shook his head. "Whatever." Nick muttered and he stormed outside.

Zach huffed before he turned to the two children and ushered them forward to the table. "Here." Luke said as he offered a couple bowls of oatmeal. Zach sat down in a chair and placed Madeline on his lap so that she could reach the table. Keith sat next to Zach and started to eat his oatmeal immediately.

However, Zach noticed that Madeline wasn't eating as fast as her brother. She was almost hesitant to eat the oatmeal. "You okay, baby?" Zach asked the toddler on his lap. "Do you like oatmeal?"

Madeline looked up and shook her head. "It taste weird." Madeline said.

Zach chuckled and said, "Okay." He looked up to Luke and said, "You guys have anything for her to eat?"

"Yeah, I think we have some apples in the cupboard." Luke said. He got up from the table and went to one of the cupboards. Madeline watched his movements with an excited look on her face. She must have liked to eat apples.

"We don't have much here. We can't be wasting it like this." Carlos said.

Zach sighed in frustration. He figured that he would have to deal with the awful man again, but he never expected him to attack Madeline. Zach turned his head and saw Carlos glaring at Madeline. Zach could feel the toddler starting to shake while Carlos continued, "Now is not the time to be picky. We work hard for that food, and you are going to eat every bit of it."

"Will you relax?" Zach said to the foreign man. "I'll eat what's left of her oatmeal as my breakfast. Besides, it's normal for a kid to be picky on some things."

Carlos turned his glare to Zach and continued, "I did not ask for your opinion. Bottom line, we cannot have a picky eater with us."

"Carlos, it's fine." Luke said. "He'll eat what's left of Madeline's oatmeal. It doesn't have to be a big deal, alright?"

"This is not alright! She should know better than to be picky! She's just being a stupid bratty kid!" Carlos spat.

"And you're being a stupid, dumbass adult! You're making a big deal out of nothing!" Zach exclaimed.

Suddenly, Zach felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked over to see Keith who was staring between the former marine and the toddler on his lap. Zach looked down to see that the girl had her ears covered. Zach sighed to relax and he took the girl's hands off her ears. "Sorry baby, I didn't mean to upset you." Zach said as he placed his arms around her to comfort her. He looked up to Carlos who was still enraged from the prior conversation. "This conversation's over."

"It's not over till I say it is. You think you can just walk in here and take command of us, like we're your slaves?" Carlos inquired.

"No, I didn't. I don't view you as slaves." Zach said as Luke returned. He gave Zach a red apple and a knife. Zach looked down to Madeline and said, "I'm going to cut up the apple for you and hand you the slices. Is that okay?" The young girl nodded and Zach released her from the hug. He started to cut up the apple, but Carlos wasn't finished. Carlos approached Zach with a glare on his face, but Luke stood in his way.

"Luke, get out of my way." Carlos demanded.

"I can't do that. Just take some time to calm down and think about this." Luke said.

"There's nothing to think about. I want him out, NOW!" Carlos spat before he stormed out of the conjoined kitchen and dining room.

"Sheesh, what a morning." Zach said as he continued to chop up the apple.

"Yeah, don't mind him or Nick." Pete said. "They're just a little tense after the last couple of weeks."

"As long as they don't hurt my wife, daughter, or these kids, I don't care what they do." Zach said as he continued to cut up the apple for Madeline. She must have been hungry since half the apple was gone.

"Carlos isn't all that bad. He's just trying to look after Sarah. She's all that he's got left. He's just trying to protect her." Luke said. The said girl was sitting next to Rebecca and was trying to enjoy her breakfast despite all of the chaos within the kitchen this morning.

"I'm trying to protect my family, too." Zach said. "I may have beaten him to a pulp last night, but that was only because he had a gun to my face."

"Look, just for our sake, try to get along with one another." Luke said.

"I'm not making any promises." Zach said as he continued to cut up the apple for Madeline. Luke sighed before he leaned back in his seat. He knew that Zach's response was the best he was going to get. Keith had finished his oatmeal, but he remained at the table. He didn't want to be separated from Zach especially with the possibility of Carlos being in the next room.

The dining room was quiet. It was so strange especially with the aftermath of Carlos going into a rant against Madeline and Zach yelling back in her defense. A few minutes ticked by and soon all that was left of the apple was the core which had been cut up into four corners. "My goodness, you must have been hungry." Zach said to the girl on his lap.

Madeline giggled and said, "Yeah, I was hungry. I want to play, now."

"How about you go play with your big brother in the living room? I still gotta eat, sweetheart." Zach said.

"But Carlos." Madeline said.

"I can watch them." Alvin said. "I'm pretty full anyway."

Zach smirked and said, "Alright, thanks."

"No problem." Alvin said as he got out of his seat.

"Alvin, are you sure-?" Rebecca asked.

"I'll be fine, Bec. I've looked after Sarah several times. I'm sure these kids are just as good as she is." Alvin said.

"C-Can I come too?" Sarah asked.

"Sure honey. Come on." Alvin said as he offered his hand to her. The nine year old smiled and got out of her seat immediately. She walked over and placed her hand in the older man's. Zach placed Madeline on the ground and she ran over to Alvin to take his other hand. Keith, on the other hand, walked behind them and the four headed into the living room.

Zach looked to Luke and asked, "So what's on the to-do list today?"

"Well, I started chopping firewood yesterday. I'd say that's the most important thing needing done now." Luke said.

"Alright, how far from the house do we gotta go?" Zach asked.

"Not too far. We'll be near the forest's edge." Luke said.

"Good." Zach said with a smirk. "We can let the kids get outside to play for a while."

"Yeah, it'd be good for them to stretch their legs." Luke said.

Suddenly, the door to the dining room open and Natalie appeared. She looked well rested for the first time in a couple days. "Hey beautiful, how are you doing?" Zach asked as he got up and hugged his wife.

"Good. Best sleep I've had in a long time." Natalie said as she enjoyed the embrace. The two separated from the hug and looked into each other's eyes with a loving stare.

"How's Clem?" Zach asked.

"She's okay. Her temperature and pulse are normal, so she's probably better. I let her sleep in since she doesn't get to do that very often." Natalie said. She looked over to the table and asked, "What's for breakfast?"

"Oatmeal… the same thing as always." Rebecca said with a tone of dread in her voice. She and the other group members must have had oatmeal for breakfast for a while.

"Beats eating nothing." Natalie said as she walked over and took the seat that was occupied by Keith. Zach returned to the table and took the bowl of oatmeal that Madeline didn't want and started to eat from it. He knew that he would need every bit of his strength to not kill Carlos.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: So, this chapter was only slightly shorter than the others, but oh well. Anyway, I'm doing my best in writing all of this. Things will pick up once I'm done with the semester which won't happen till mid-December.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Madeline Carver. She belongs to FanFic Productions.**

**Afternoon**

Zach grunted as he brought down his axe on another log that was set up on the stump. He and Luke were busy cutting up firewood. At the same time, the two could hear Clementine, Keith, and Madeline playing in front of the house. Zach looked up and smiled to see how easy it was for Clementine to adapt to having to play with someone younger than her. He was also surprised to see how fast she and Keith had become close friends.

Zach looked over to see Alvin and Natalie watching the children while also socializing. They probably didn't have to do much considering that the three children were very kind towards one another and were very responsible. "Almost like old times." Luke said.

Zach looked to the young man who had a smirk on his face and he said, "Yeah, I remember when we were growing up that the worst thing that we had to face was getting a bad grade in a teacher's class."

Luke chuckled and said, "I remember that Nick hated getting his report card since he was barely able to pass his classes."

"Hah, yeah. Those were the days." Zach said. He looked back to the children who were playing tag, but then, he noticed Sarah at the window. She was watching Clementine, Keith, and Madeline with a sad look on her face. She seemed to want to join in on the fun as well. "Why isn't she playing with the other kids?" Zach asked.

Luke looked over to see Sarah and he said, "She's not allowed outside. Carlos doesn't let her outside."

"That's not healthy." Zach said. "She needs to be out here playing and socializing with someone her age."

"I hear you, but Carlos is real strict about her doing some things." Luke said. "One thing that he doesn't want her to do is to go outside unless it's an emergency."

Zach turned to Luke and said, "She should be fine out here. Alvin and Natalie are watching the kids, and with me and you so close to the forest's edge, there shouldn't be any other problems."

"Look Zach, I would like Sarah to get out here and get some fresh air and really I'm not the only one, but there's not much I can do. Carlos is her father. What he says goes." Luke explained.

"Then we'll keep Carlos busy for a while. I'm sure there's something you two can talk about. While you're talking to him, I'll get Sarah to come outside." Zach said.

"It won't work. He's too overprotective of her." Luke said.

"Don't worry about it. I'll tell him that it was my idea and he'll rant at me." Zach said.

"That's what I'm afraid of. Zach, you are definitely in hot water right now with the group." Luke said. "If you do this and it goes wrong, there might be nothing I can do."

"Look, I know this may not seem like a big deal, but it is." Zach said. "This place isn't fortified enough to last forever, and eventually, we're going to have to leave. Sarah's not going to have the endurance to keep up with us if she spends all her time being in a house. Even a simple game like tag really helps a child's endurance. So by getting her out here, you've increased the likelihood of her survival. You do want her to survive, right?"

Luke's eyes widened upon hearing Zach's input. He wanted to argue, but he knew that Zach was right. Luke huffed and said, "Alright, I'll try to buy as much time as I can."

Zach nodded and the two headed toward the house. Luke approached the door and said, "I'll go in first and talk to Carlos. More than likely, he's watching Sarah."

"Alright." Zach said. Luke opened the door and entered the house. Zach placed his ear against the door and could hear the faint voices of Carlos and Luke.

"What are you doing in here, Luke?" Carlos asked. "I thought you were outside cutting up firewood."

"I was but I… I really need to talk to you about something… in private." Luke said.

Zach could hear one of the men sighed and it was followed by Carlos's voice. "Luke, whatever it is, just say it." Carlos said.

"I… can't. It involves C-A-R-V-E-R." Luke said. Zach shook his head with a perplexed stare. The group is so overprotective of Sarah that they can't even say Carver in front of her? That's no way to help a child survive. She needs to at least know what the threat is.

There was a few seconds of silence within the room until Carlos said, "Alright." Zach waited for a couple of seconds until he heard Carlos speak again. "Sweetie, I'll be right back. Don't go outside."

"Okay." Sarah said. It was evident that the girl sounded sad and lonely. Zach waited for a couple more seconds until he entered the house. He went to the living room and saw Sarah staring out the window. He could hear Luke and Carlos from behind the kitchen door.

Zach walked over to the couch that Sarah was using to look outside, and he sat down next to her. She was so focused on the children playing outside that she didn't even notice Zach. The marine tapped her shoulder to get her attention and she almost jumped in surprise to see him. "It's alright." Zach whispered.

Sarah seemed to calm down by the sight of him and she sat down next to him on the couch. Zach huffed and whispered, "I think you should go outside and play with the other kids."

"I can't." Sarah whispered. "Dad would punish me for not listening to him."

"No, I won't let him." Zach whispered. "I'll tell him it was my idea and that you were only listening to me. He can't punish you for listening to an adult, can he?"

"I… I guess not. Is it safe to go outside?" Sarah whispered.

"Yeah, Natalie and Alvin are watching Clem, Maddie, and Keith right now. You better hurry and head on out there." Zach said with a smirk.

Sarah smiled back and said, "Thank you." She got up from the couch and made her approach to the door. Her movements were shaky and became even shakier as she neared the door, but once she got outside, she ran to join the other children.

Zach smiled in satisfaction. He knew that he did a good thing, but he would still have to confront Carlos. He turned upon seeing something out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to see Rebecca staring out the window. Zach felt immediate stress wash over him. He wasn't expecting anyone to be watching him and Sarah. However, he was surprised to see a smile form on Rebecca's face.

Zach looked to the woman with a perplexed stare before he walked over to her. "I guess you're going to tell Carlos about what I did." Zach said.

Rebecca shook her head and continued to stare out the window. "No, I'm not. I don't get to see her play with children her age very often. After she lost her mother, she started to look at me like I was her adoptive mother and then Alvin as a second father." Rebecca looked to Zach and said, "I don't agree on how Carlos raises her. He forces her to stay in here all the time which makes her miserable. All she wants to do nowadays is to run around outside, even if it's for just a few minutes. Sometimes, I wish that bone head would realize that."

"She's still a child. She needs to be outside. It's not healthy for her to stay inside all the time." Zach said.

"Exactly." Rebecca said. She looked out to see Sarah playing tag with the other children and said, "I may have been wrong about you. It's just when you've been chased for as long as we've been… you develop distrust and hate towards anyone new."

A few seconds ticked by as Zach watched his own child play with the other children. It was heartwarming for him. He doesn't get to see Clementine play like a child very often. The new world has forced her to grow up. He didn't like it. He wanted her to be the child that she was, but he knew that wish will never come true. She'll always look over her shoulder for walkers.

"I know what you mean. It's been so long since I've seen friendly faces outside of my own family. It feels almost strange." Zach said.

"I need to check on Sarah." Carlos's voice echoed within the room. Zach looked over to the doctor to see his shocked face which turned into searing anger.

Luke came out of the kitchen and said, "Carlos, let's talk about this." Luke said.

"You! Where is my daughter?" Carlos bellowed.

"Outside playing which is where she should have been a few minutes ago." Zach said. Zach knew that he had to remain calm. He didn't exactly want what happened last night happen again today.

Carlos stomped towards Zach and he bellowed, "You stay away from my daughter! She is not your child! You can't tell her what to do!" The older man stared down the former marine, but Zach didn't budge

"Carlos, you have to realize that Sarah is still just a little girl. She wants to play with children her age." Rebecca said. "It won't change Sarah. She'll still be your little girl."

Carlos looked over to Rebecca with shock on his face and he said, "Rebecca, I can't believe that you are supporting this. This is MY daughter, not yours."

"We understand that, Carlos. We're all just trying to look out for Sarah." Rebecca said with a calm voice.

"If you were looking out for her, you would have never let her go outside!" Carlos snapped. The angry doctor stomped towards the door while the rest of the group watched his movements with nervous looks.

"Carlos, think about what you're going to do." Luke said but it was too late. The door slammed shut which made Luke and Rebecca shutter.

"What's he going to do?" Zach asked. He was starting to get nervous. He never anticipated that the doctor would harm his own daughter. He thought that Carlos would try to beat on him to vent his anger.

"I don't know. Come on." Luke said. The three rushed outside to and could immediately hear Carlos's voice.

"…You remember what happened to your mother!" Carlos bellowed at his nine year old daughter.

"…Y…Yes." Sarah whimpered. Zach, Luke, and Rebecca ran down the stairs while Alvin and Natalie were next to the doctor.

"Carlos, there's no reason to get this worked up over her coming outside. She knew that Natalie and I were out here watching the other kids." Alvin said.

"I'm not taking chances." Carlos snapped at the stocky man.

"Hey, if you're going to blame someone, you should blame me. I encouraged her to come out here." Zach said as he approached Carlos. "She was only listening to an adult."

Carlos turned his glare towards Zach and he said, "Don't worry. I already have a punishment for you. You couldn't leave my daughter alone, so now, you're going to go through the consequences of that action. There's going to be no vote on whether you stay or not. You and your family leave now."

"I'm against that." Rebecca said which surprised mostly everyone. She had always had some resentment towards Zach, but she has changed her position. "In his own way, Zach was only trying to look out for Sarah. Carlos, your daughter is miserable in that house! She needs to get out and run around every once in a while. It's a normal thing for a child to do!"

"ENOUGH! She is not your daughter! You have no right in telling me on how to raise her!" Carlos bellowed.

"I do when you don't know shit!" Rebecca snapped. "Ever since Eleanor died, you've been breathing down your child's neck!"

Carlos was shocked upon hearing the name while Rebecca gasped and she covered her mouth. "Carlos… I'm…" Rebecca said.

Carlos's glare returned and he grabbed Sarah's arm. He practically dragged her to the cabin while she tried to regain her footing. "Come on. We're going inside." Carlos said. His voice had searing anger in it, but it was also tinted with sadness.

"Daddy, hold on. No…" Sarah said. However, Carlos immediately reacted by yanking her forward and bringing his arm back. In one quick movement, he had brought his arm down and spanked her. It sent an unpleasant shock to Zach. It reminded him too much of his own childhood. Sarah cried from the unpleasant form of discipline.

Meanwhile, Carlos crouched down to her eye level and gripped the girl by her arms. "What have I said about using that word?" Carlos said in a strict tone. Sarah whimpered from the harsh treatment and which made Carlos continue. "I said that you are to never use that word, understand?"

In response, Sarah nodded through her whimpering. Carlos must have been satisfied by the response since he got up and continued to drag the girl inside.

The group was left stunned and surprised. Luke, Alvin, and Rebecca were shocked to see how strict and uncaring Carlos had become. It wasn't disciplining that Carlos was doing, it was full control through harsh punishment and treatment. He was abusing his daughter.

Rebecca looked back to Zach with a scrunched up face and she said, "Come on. We need to talk some sense into that… idiot."

Zach nodded and the two headed for the cabin. Zach was surprised how Rebecca had become such a quick ally, but he was also infuriated. He couldn't believe how awful Carlos was to his own daughter.

* * *

The two entered the house and could hear a door slam shut from upstairs. Rebecca walked across the living room and up the stairs with Zach following her.

The two reached the top of the stairs and looked to Carlos who was pinching his nose out of stress and anger. He leaned against a door where light sobbing was emanating from. Carlos noticed the two and he looked to Zach with a glare. "You have done enough to me and my daughter. I want you to leave now." Carlos said in an exhausted voice.

Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Carlos, he is not the problem. You are. There was a time when Sarah meant the world to you, but now, you're so strict and hard on her that you're making her life miserable. I know that Eleanor meant a lot to you both, but for Sarah's sake, you've got to let that go."

"I can't. I won't let what happen to Eleanor happen to Sarah. If by doing this makes her miserable, but keeps her alive then so be it. I won't let her die." Carlos said. He walked away from the room and pushed Zach aside before going down the stairs.

Zach glared at the retreating man until he heard Rebecca. "I've never seen that side of him before. That was something I haven't seen since Carver."

"Who is Carver?" Zach asked. "I know that he's dangerous and I know that he's Keith's and Madeline's father, but there has to be more than that."

Rebecca looked to Zach and said, "He's the leader of a camp that's a little ways from here. We were lucky to get out when we did." A tear formed in Rebecca's eyes which surprised Zach. The woman huffed and she continued, "Carver is one of the most sickening people I have ever known. He had another daughter, his first born. Her name was Sophia. She was such a wonderful little girl. She and Sarah were such good friends. Carlos didn't like her as much, but he knew that Sophia made Sarah happy, so he put up with it, but then… one day, we all woke up and she was nowhere to be found. We found out later that Bill had thrown her out of the community in the middle of the night. More than likely, she didn't make it."

Zach frowned and said, "That's awful. How can anyone do that, especially to their first born?"

"Well, that's Carver for you." Rebecca said with a saddened look. She looked to the door and said, "I'd better go check on Sarah."

"Sounds good. Luke and I will continue cutting up firewood." Zach said.

He headed for the stairs but he was stopped when Rebecca said, "Zach."

"Yeah?" Zach said as he turned to the woman.

"I'm voting that you stay with us tonight." Rebecca said. "We'll need you if that madman returns."

A moment of silence passed by the two until Zach said, "Okay. Thanks." Rebecca nodded and the marine headed down the stairs. He started to think to himself about how the group functioned. His original assessment was wrong. He figured that the group was out for themselves, but they could truly congregate and take action when necessary. However, there was a weak link. One person held the group back and Zach knew that he would have to kill him. Zach had to kill Carlos; otherwise, the group would never function correctly.

**Night Time**

Zach and Natalie waited in the living room with Clementine, Keith, and Madeline asleep in their arms. They've been waiting for the verdict of the group. Both were nervous since the three children had worn themselves out from their outside play during the day. Zach kept thinking to himself about the day's events. He was happy to see Clementine, Keith, and Madeline play outside like kids, but Sarah was a completely different story. Finally, Zach was brought out of his thoughts by his wife. "You should know that it's not your fault for what happened to Sarah. Everyone was surprised by what Carlos did." Natalie said.

Zach shook his head and said, "I know. I understand where Carlos is coming from. When we first started dating, I had to fight the urge to keep you away from the world. The last thing I ever wanted to see happening was you getting bit."

Natalie was shocked by the new information and she asked, "So why didn't you act like him?"

Zach huffed and said, "Because I know that I can't do everything and I was going to need help. Besides, teaching you how to shoot and survive in this world is the most important thing I can do, and it ensures your safety almost indefinitely."

Natalie smiled to Zach and said, "I'm glad you're not like him."

"And I'm glad you're not like Amaya." Zach said. "I may have loved her, but looking back, I don't think she felt the same way as I did."

"But you both got married." Natalie said.

"I know. Everything seemed to work out pretty well in those first couple of weeks, but then… the more time I spent overseas in Afghanistan, the angrier she got. I tried to talk to her over the webcam, but… all she wanted me to do was to come home. I mean… I couldn't. I was in the middle of serving my country." Zach said. His recollection made him frown. His marriage with Amaya had gone sour, and he remembered how afraid he was to return home. He remembered having nightmares where he would come home and Amaya would be at the table with a divorce attorney.

"I wish we wouldn't dwell so much on the past when it comes to bad memories. I didn't have an angry spouse before this, but my brother… My gosh, what was he thinking?"

Zach looked to his wife with a saddened stare. He remembered Natalie talking about her own hardships. "Your brother? The one that got associated with a gang?"

Natalie looked down with a frown and said, "Yeah. I begged him countless times to come back home, but he wouldn't listen. Before I knew it, he became a crime boss and he took on a stupid nickname… I think it was Bulldog, if memory serves right."

"Hmm… I guess bad memories are the ones that stick out more." Zach said.

"Well, it's stupid and I hate it." Natalie said. "I want to remember some of the better times more than the crap my family and I had to go through."

"I feel you." Zach said as he looked down to Keith and Madeline. He was worried about them and how they would grow up. "Natalie…"

"Yes dear?" Natalie said.

Zach looked up and said, "I think we need to adopt these two."

"But Zach what about Clem? She's been our baby all this time. What if she starts feeling neglected since we're focused on Madeline and Keith?" Natalie asked.

"Natalie, did she feel neglected today when you were watching her and these two kids?" Zach asked.

"No, but what if she starts feeling that way?" Natalie said.

"She won't. Natalie, no matter what, she's always going to be our first child, and we are always going to make sure that she feels loved." Zach said. "It might be hard for her at first, but she adjusts really easily."

"I… I guess you're right." Natalie said. "Should we ask Keith and Maddie if they want to be a part of the family tomorrow?"

Zach looked down to the sleeping brother and sister and shook his head. "I think we should wait a while till they can get to know us better. We'll be their guardians until then."

"Sounds good." Natalie said.

The two could hear the door open along with footsteps coming towards them. Zach knew it was Luke and his group. They have made their decision. The group surrounded the couch where Zach and Natalie were with Luke, Pete, Alvin, and Rebecca being particularly happy, but Nick and Carlos seemed furious. "Well, with a four to two vote, we've decided that you and your family gets to stay." Luke said to Zach.

Zach smirked and said, "Thanks. I appreciate it, Luke."

Luke nodded and said, "No problem. I'm glad that we got you in the group. I bet you'll give Carver a run for his money if he shows up here."

"Sounds like a plan." Zach said. He had almost forgotten how good his friendship with Luke was. It had been so many years, but he was still the same. Luke headed off for his bed but Zach found it strange that the others stayed, especially Carlos.

"Well, I'd like a hand tomorrow with the nets near the river. You interested?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, it'll give me some time away from the cabin. Won't mind if I bring Keith? I have a feeling that he would like it down at the river." Zach said.

"I don't mind." Pete said. "Besides, we can teach him how to fish."

"Come on Uncle Pete. You can't be serious. That f****** brat is a Carver." Nick complained.

"So? Who cares, Nick? He's just a boy. What harm is he going to do?" Pete asked.

"He's already done enough harm to us." Nick spat as he looked to the sleeping boy with a glare.

"That boy is nothing like his dad. You got to let it go son." Pete said.

"Whatever." Nick spat as he continued to glare at the child. Zach noticed that Pete was giving a concerned look toward his nephew before he headed towards the door to do the first half of the night's watch for the cabin group.

Zach could hear the door closed as Rebecca and Alvin headed upstairs. Nick looked to Zach and said, "You're a f****** asshole." He then stormed off for the kitchen as Zach rolled his eyes. Nick was always like that growing up. He would hold onto a grudge and milk it for what it was worth. It wasn't exactly his fault. He was born with a short fuse.

Carlos stood in front of Zach and glared at him. "Your time here is going to be short." Carlos said. "If I see you or your children anywhere near my daughter, then there will be consequences."

"Threatening me and my family is a pretty bad move. People have done that before, but they don't live long afterwards." Zach said as he sent a glare towards Carlos.

"You kill me and the group will kick you and your family out. The rules out there don't apply here. I wish I could kill you right now, but I know the group would be furious if that happened. So, I'll bid my time and when the opportunity presents itself, I will kill you and everything that you hold dear." Carlos said as a sickening smile formed on his lips.

"Go to hell." Zach spat.

"That's where you're going in a few days." Carlos said as his smile disappeared. He got up and headed upstairs.

Zach released a sigh to keep himself calm. He was more than ready to attack Carlos, but he knew that Luke and his group would not approve of the savage killing.

"Zach, we got to do something about him. He's not right in the head." Natalie said.

"I know…" Zach said. He huffed before he continued. "I'll handle it."

Natalie was silent for a moment until she said, "Okay… just don't go overboard. This is a really nice group, and I'd hate for us to get kicked out."

Zach smirked and said, "Don't worry. I'll just talk to Luke about it."

"Just… please don't send him away. I'm sure his daughter would be devastated to see that happen. No child should ever have to lose a parent by seeing him forced out of the group and to never return." Natalie said.

"I'll keep that in mind." Zach said. "For now, we should get some sleep."

"Okay." Natalie said. The two adults leaned back into the couch and started to doze off. Zach couldn't stop thinking about how dangerous Carlos was. He would have to kill him, but it wasn't going to be easy. He has had to deal with death threats toward his family before, but that was when it was him, Clementine, and Natalie. Now, he had another child that was just as young as Clementine and a baby to look after. As much as he hated it, he would have to bide his time and keep the children close to make sure Carlos doesn't do anything to harm them.

**Morning**

Zach and Keith walked side-by-side following Pete to the river with the boy checking his surroundings. He seemed tense and nervous. Zach placed a hand on his shoulder which made him flinch. "Hey, you're okay." Zach said to the boy.

"Right, sorry… it's just a force of habit." Keith said.

"When you were with Maddie?" Zach asked.

Keith nodded his head and he looked forward to Pete. "It feels… strange being out here… without her. I feel like I want to go back to the cabin… just to see if she's okay."

"She's fine. Natalie's watching her and Clem. They should be fine." Zach said to assure the boy.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks Zach." Keith said with a smile.

"No problem." Zach said.

"So, I heard that Carlos was giving you some trouble last night." Pete said. "I wouldn't worry about too much on what he says. His bark is worse than his bite."

"It's dangerous to have people like him around." Zach said. "I've been out here for a long time and I know what a killer looks like."

"Carlos isn't a killer." Pete said. "He's just got a lot on his mind with trying to keep Sarah safe."

"We'll see. I don't like taking my chances, but I guess I don't have a choice." Zach said.

"Well, I'll admit that Carlos has gotten tenser from having you around, but just give him time. He lost his wife about a year ago and Sarah's only nine, so he's feeling pressured to keep her safe." Pete said. Keith walked up to Pete with Zach being close behind them.

"How far is the river?" Keith asked.

"It ain't much further." Pete said. Zach looked around the area and was surprised that there weren't any walkers nearby.

"You guys cleared this path before?" Zach asked. "I don't see any walkers."

"Yeah. We had to deal with a decent group of them when we first started using this path, but we haven't seen many in the area for the last couple weeks." Pete explained as he walked through an opening in the fence. Keith followed while Zach stayed behind the boy to make sure he got through the opening without much difficulty.

After walking through the opening as well, Zach rejoined Pete and the three continued toward the river. "Hey, has anyone taught you how to shoot?" Pete asked Keith. "And I mean shoot properly. Any idiot with a finger can shoot."

"Yeah, but not a rifle." Keith said.

"Well that makes sense. Something like this would probably knock you down on your ass." Pete said. He turned back to Zach and asked, "Have I told you the story about Nick's first time hunting?"

A smirk formed on Zach's face and he said, "Yeah, I remember you talking about it. You should tell Keith the story. He'll get a good kick out of it."

"Haha… well alright." Pete said. He turned back to Keith and started to explain the story. "Nick was a little older than you when I took him hunting for the first time." Pete stopped as he continued to explain the story. "We came across this beautiful 13-point buck just standing there on the ridgeline." Pete then brought the rifle up as a demonstration of Nick holding it and continued, "The boy takes up the rifle... lines up the shot just like I taught him… then I hear him start whinin. He turns to me and says, 'I can't do it. I can't shoot it Uncle Pete. Please don't make me shoot it.'"

"Really? No way." Keith said as he chuckled.

"Hah, yeah. He was pretty bad at hunting." Zach said.

Pete smiled until he could hear his nephew, ""Hey!" Nick exclaimed as caught up with the two men and child. "Why didn't you wait?" Nick asked.

"You want us standing around while you're pissing on a tree? You know where the river is boy." Pete said. He turned back to Keith and continued with the story, "Anyway, I grab the gun out of his hand before the big buck runs off, when BANG! The gun fires. The boy nearly gut shot me. And of course the buck gets away."

"Why are you going telling them this shit for?" Nick snapped.

Zach chuckled and said, "I've already heard this story. It's hilarious."

"Hilarious? You think making fun of me when I was a kid is a hilarious?" Nick snapped at Zach.

"Nick, calm down. You've been giving Zach shit since he's shown up. Why can't you be thankful that he showed up again?" Pete said.

"Because he should have stayed with us to begin with!" Nick exclaimed. He sent a glare toward Zach and continued. "It's all your fault! If you would have stayed with us, then my mom would still be alive." Nick pushed past Zach as the marine sent a glare towards Nick.

"Nick!" Pete yelled at the young man.

"I know where the f****** river is." Nick snapped as he walked off.

Pete shook his head, disappointed by Nick's attitude and said, "So, anyway… I came across that buck later that season. I shot it right in the neck. Brought it up to my sister's figurin she'd wanted to freeze some of the meat. Nick didn't speak to me for weeks. Sometimes, you got to play roll, even if it means the people you love hate you for it." Pete then rubbed the back of his neck as he considered his own words.

"It's a tough time for everyone, Pete. He'll come around… eventually." Zach said.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Pete said.

Suddenly, there was a loud yell. "Uncle Pete!" It was Nick and it didn't sound good.

Pete, Zach, and Keith ran for the river where Nick was. Pete led the way while Zach made sure that Keith was able to keep up with them. Surprisingly, the boy was quite fast and was able to maintain a decent speed. "Nick?" Pete exclaimed. The three could finally see Nick and they ran into a clearing where a river was. "Oh, my stars and garters." Pete said as he looked around the area. There were bodies everywhere along the river bank. Pete went to observe one of the mangled bodies and shook his head in disgust. "They're full of holes." Pete said as he looked back to Zach, Nick, and Keith.

"I've never seen anything this big before." Zach said.

"I f****** knew it! I knew that Carver was coming for us!" Nick exclaimed. He looked over to Keith and sent a glare towards the boy. "You led your piece of shit dad to us! I knew you would!"

"I… I-I… No, I didn't…" Keith said as he shook in fear.

"F****** liar!" Nick exclaimed as he aimed the hunting rifle at Keith.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nick calm down!" Pete exclaimed.

Suddenly, Zach pulled out his revolver and aimed it at Nick. "Put down the gun, now." Zach said.

"Whoa, whoa! Hang on now! We can't be turning on each other!" Pete said.

"Zach, I have to do this." Nick said. "We can't trust him. Now, please, just listen to me."

Zach ignored his friend's words and placed his finger closer to the trigger. "I'll count to five. If you don't have that gun aimed elsewhere or on the ground, I'm going to blow your brains out."

Nick tensed up even more, but he kept his gun aimed at Keith. The boy shook in fear and he started to bring his arms up in a vain attempt to shield himself.

"One…" Zach said, but Nick didn't show any signs of relenting.

"Two…" Zach said, but again nothing changed.

"Three…" Zach said. By that point, the atmosphere became tense and he could hear Keith starting to whimper in fear.

"Four…" Zach said. He was starting to become enraged. He couldn't believe that Nick's stubbornness was going to get him killed. All it took was one more number and a squeeze of the trigger and Zach could get rid of one of the two problems in the group.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! My favorite thing to use when it comes to torturing you guys.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Well, an old character shows up in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

"F****** fine!" Nick spat as he lowered his weapon. He looked to Zach with a glare and said, "You're a f***** asshole. We were better off without you." He walked off to check one of the bodies as Zach holstered his gun. He shook his head in distaste at Nick's retreating form.

Pete looked to Zach and asked, "You weren't really going to kill him, were you? You were just bluffing, right?"

Zach shook his head and said, "I've changed Pete. I know he has too… I'll give him a little more time, but my patience with him is wearing thin. He's going to have to leave his past behind; otherwise I'll make sure he doesn't have a future."

"Zach…" Pete said. The man's eyes were wide with shock and fear. Despite Nick's negative attitude, Pete still cared about the young man.

"Let's check these bodies." Zach said.

Pete looked down and nodded his head. "Yeah… okay." Pete said. He walked over to examine one of the nearby bodies more closely while Zach walked up to Keith and crouched down to the boy's height. Keith was still shaking from being held at gunpoint. Zach hugged the boy while Keith shook in his arms.

"It's okay." Zach said to the boy as he rubbed his back to comfort him. "You're okay." Eventually, Keith's breathing returned to normal and Zach released the boy. He gave him a comforting stare and asked, "You okay?"

Keith smiled and said, "Yeah… thanks. I'm glad you're here."

"No problem." Zach said. He got up and looked over to one of the bodies. He turned back to Keith and said, "Could you keep an eye out for us? Just let me know if you see anyone or anything."

"Yeah, I can do that." Keith said. Zach smiled to the boy and he went over to check a man with a leather jacket which had 'Plastic Toys' on the back. Zach turned the man over onto his back and saw a bullet wound to his head.

"Is that one dead too?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, shot through the forehead." Zach said. He checked the man's pockets but found nothing. "This guy has nothing on him."

"Really? It's the same way with this guy." Pete said.

"Hmm…" Zach said. "I think I know what happened here. This was a massacre and these people were prisoners."

"Eh… I don't know about that, Zach." Pete said.

"Think about it." Zach said. "These guys have been shot multiple times and we have two of them that aren't even armed." Zach got up and checked the surrounding area for any other bodies and was stunned to see more on an island in the middle of the river. "Pete, we got more out there." Zach said. He looked over to Pete to see him stand up and look to the island.

"This wasn't just your rinky-dink pissin match." Pete said

"What was it then?" Nick asked as he rejoined the two men.

"FUBAR." Pete replied. He took a couple steps toward the small island in the middle of the river.

"Where the f*** are you going?" Nick exclaimed. "We need it get out of here now!"

"Got to check the rest." Pete said as he walked closer to the water.

"No way! What for?" Nick exclaimed.

"Calm down and think about it son." Pete said as he crossed a shallow part of the river to get to the island.

"Calm down? We need to get out of here now!" Nick exclaimed.

"For crying out loud, get a hold of yourself!" Pete exclaimed as he reached the island. He turned to his nephew and gave the young man a dirty look.

"There's nothing we can do for these people. We're just going to have to move on." Zach said. "It's too dangerous to stay here."

Pete crossed his arms over his chest and sent a glare towards Zach. "I thought becoming a marine meant that you put other folks' lives before your own."

"I'm not a marine anymore. I'm just a survivor." Zach said. "I also have a family depending on me. You want to check these bodies? Go for it, but Keith and I are heading back and telling the others. Besides, this place is going to become a death trap any minute now."

"What are you talking about?" Pete asked.

"Pete, there are bodies and blood everywhere. I'm surprised a herd hasn't ran through this area yet." Zach said.

"But Zach, what if someone's alive?" Keith asked.

"Who cares?" Nick inquired.

"Because if there's someone alive, they might be willing to tell us who did all of this. We have to do this now." Pete said. "Nick, you stay here and check these guys. Zach, I want you and Keith on this island."

Zach huffed and said, "I guess you got a point. It'd be nice to know who did this."

"This is a dumb idea!" Nick exclaimed.

"You know Nick, I don't like this either but sooner or later you're going to have to learn the simple truth." Pete said.

"What? That you're an asshole?" Nick inquired.

"That no one in this world is going to give a damn of whether you like something or not. You got to grow up son." Pete scolded.

"Whatever." Nick said and he stomped away to check on the other bodies on the river bank.

"Come on, Keith." Zach said to the boy. Zach bent down to pick him up and placed him on his hip. Keith was stiff at first, but as the two made it across the river, he started to relax. "I guess you're not used to being carried." Zach said.

"I haven't been carried since I was four and a half." Keith replied as the two made it across the river and onto the island that Pete was on.

Zach placed the boy on the ground and he said, "I didn't want you to get soaked by the river, so I hope you didn't mind."

"No, it's fine. I liked it." Keith said with a warm smile.

Zach turned to Pete and said, "So what do we got?"

"Looks like the same deal over here. These bodies are full of holes." Pete explained. Pete then noticed a walker that had a flagpole sticking out of its chest. "Hm, same thing, shot to pieces; I hope this wasn't someone you knew." He put his foot on the walker and took the flagpole out of its chest.

"No… I don't recognize him." Zach said as he looked over the walker.

"Good." Pete said and he killed the walker with the flagpole. He looked up and stared at the opposite shore. Zach and Keith followed his line of vision and saw more bodies on the shore. "Dammit, more on that side. You check out these ones. See if there's anything on them that'll tell us who they were." Pete walked toward the opposite shore and made his way across the river.

Meanwhile, Zach checked the bodies on the island but it didn't seem that there were any survivors. Suddenly, he noticed something off about one of the bodies. His eyes widened. He knew who it was, but he hadn't seen him or his group in a long time. "Clive…" Zach said.

"Wait, what?" Keith asked, but Zach ran ahead and knelt down next to the injured man.

Zach checked the middle-aged African-American man for a pulse. Somehow, he was alive, but Zach didn't know for how long. The older man's breathing was hoarse and he had a gunshot wound to his side. "Clive." Zach said. "Clive, wake up."

The older man groaned and he looked to Zach with his eyes barely open. "…Eh… I know you… You're Zach."

"Yeah, you alright?" Zach asked. "Who did all of this?"

Clive had a series of coughs and he said, "Wa… Water…" Zach nodded and he got out a bottle of water. He opened the top and helped Clive to drink a good portion of it. Clive coughed a bit more and said, "Thank you…"

"Clive, who did this?" Zach asked. Keith stood by waiting for his response as well, but Zach could tell that the boy was shaking. He was scared that his father was behind the massacre.

Clive huffed and said, "It was… Carver." Keith started to hyperventilate upon hearing his last name. Zach and Keith knew that Clive was talking about Keith's father.

"You're okay." Zach said as he pulled Keith closer and tried to comfort the boy. He turned back to Clive and asked, "What happened?"

Clive's huffing was starting to die down and he said, "After Vernon took that boat you guys were working on, he ended up dying for it… reckless idiot. I told him that stupid boat wouldn't work."

"You guys saw an opportunity and you went for it. There's nothing wrong with that." Zach said.

"Well after that damn boat, we ended up with this group. The leader was Roman." Clive explained. "Things were alright for a long time, but then, we captured this boy. We were all debating whether we should kill him or not. In the end, we made the wrong call. We let him go and he returned with this group…. We killed them… but not before they killed Boyd. After that, we made sure that we would never make that mistake again. We were doing fine, but then, this big shot, Carver, shows up… he smashed through our defenses. He killed quite a few of us on the spot. He took me and Roman… to be executed here."

Zach hummed upon hearing Clive's story. It was evident that he had been through a lot. Zach looked to Clive and asked, "Can you stand?"

"I don't know. I've been out here for hours." Clive said. Zach got up and extended his hand out to Clive. The middle-aged man smirked and accepted the help up. Clive groaned as Zach finished helping him up.

"We got one alive?" Pete asked as he approached the river's edge. Clive and Zach turned to the man just in time to see a crawler attack Pete's leg. "ARRGH!" Pete exclaimed and he backed away from the crawler. He took aim with his hunting rifle and killed the creature.

"Uncle Pete!" Nick exclaimed.

"I'm fine." Pete huffed. "I…I just lost my footing. Dammit… Dammit!" Zach, Clive, and Keith looked to Pete with worry until they could hear rustling in the bushes. They didn't have to look for very long or hard to know what it was. Several walkers exited the woods and they headed for Nick and Pete.

"Shit lurkers!" Nick exclaimed.

I'm out of ammo!" Pete exclaimed.

"Come this way!" Nick yelled.

"Son of a bitch… dammit you get your asses over here, now!" Pete yelled. Zach looked back and forth between the two. He wasn't sure who to go with.

"Who do we go to?" Keith asked Zach.

"Your friend over there got bit… I can tell." Clive said. "It'd be dangerous to go with him."

"Yeah, you're right." Zach said. He looked to Keith and said, "Come on, buddy. We're going this way." Zach bent down along with Clive and he picked up the boy. He then ran across the river with the young boy in one arm and using his other arm to help Clive.

"Forget it. I'll just slow you down." Clive said.

"I'm not giving up on you so don't give up on me." Zach said. They reached the river bank where Nick was busy fighting the walkers. Zach placed Keith on the ground and started to rush toward Nick. He heard Pete yell for Nick as more and more walkers started to congregate.

Keith pulled out his slingshot and pulled it back to take out one of the walkers. He fired which killed the walker and he pulled out another rock to shoot with.

Meanwhile, Zach shot a walker that stood between him and Nick with his revolver. "Come on, Nick." Zach said to his former friend.

"No, I have to help my uncle." Nick said.

"It's too late for him. He got bit." Clive said. "We're all going to get eaten if we stay here."

"F***** liar!" Nick shouted. Suddenly, Pete's screams could be heard. The group looked over to Pete and Nick exclaimed, "PETE, NO!" The older man was getting ripped apart.

"Zach, we got to get moving, or we're just going to end up like him." Clive said.

"You're right." Zach said. He turned to Keith and said, "Keith, make sure you stay with us."

"Yeah, okay." Keith said. Zach started to haul off with Clive, and Keith followed close behind. The two were still able to outrun their decaying pursuers but Zach could tell that Clive was running on fumes. They wouldn't be able to keep the pace up forever. As they went further and further into the forest, the gunshots from Nick were becoming fainter.

* * *

Zach looked around for some kind of shelter as a few of the undead creatures gave chase. Finally, he could see a shed in the distance. "Hang on, you two… I see a shed up ahead." Zach said.

"What else… am I supposed to do?" Clive huffed.

They were getting closer and closer to the shed and Zach said, "Keith get the door, but be careful. There might be walkers inside."

"Okay." Keith said. He rushed to the door and peeked inside as Zach and Clive kept getting closer. Keith opened the door a little more and analyzed the inside before he opened the door completely. "It's empty."

"Good job, hon. Get inside." Zach huffed. Keith nodded and he went inside the building followed by Zach who was helping Clive.

Zach grabbed the door and slammed it shut with his free hand. He leaned against it with Clive who was growling in pain. "Ahh…. Dammit!" Clive exclaimed as he gripped his side.

Zach huffed as he struggled to keep the door closed. The strength that the walkers possessed was remarkable. Even with Clive's strength in the mix, both men were barely able to keep the door closed. After struggling to keep the door shut, Zach looked around the room until he spotted a crate. "Keith, drag that crate over here."

"Um… okay." Keith said.

The boy went to the crate as Zach used as much of his strength as he could muster to keep the doors shut. "Keith make sure you drag it. You'll only get hurt if you try to lift it." Zach said. He looked over to see the boy push it towards Zach. He grunted as he did so, but the box was moving closer and closer to Zach. "There you go hon. Just a little more."

Keith pushed the heavy crate a little more and Zach helped Clive to sit down without agitating his wound too much. Zach pushed back against the herd of walkers that tried to bust down the door until Keith got the crate as close as he could to Zach. The boy huffed as his guardian took over and pushed the crate against the door. He backed away as the banging outside continued and the door would bulge from the impact, but because of the heavy crate, the doors remained shut.

"Man…" Clive said. "That was way too close."

"You said it." Zach huffed. He looked to the two in the shed with him and he asked, "You both alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Keith huffed.

Zach looked to Clive and the older man continued to huff. "I've been better, but if we don't get this wound stitched up, I won't be for long."

"I hate to say it, but I'm not the medical expert in the family." Zach said. "We're still a half mile from the house from here."

Clive started to huff and said, "You got to have something, even if it dulls the pain."

"Actually, I got stuff and I know how to clean and stitch wounds." Keith said.

Both men looked to the boy with surprised eyes and Zach asked, "How do you know all of that. You're only eight."

"Carlos was forced to teach me to be a doctor. I've sewed up ten injuries while he was gone." Keith said.

"Well… I don't have many options right now. I just hope you know what you're doing." Clive said. Keith nodded and he walked over to Clive. He placed his backpack on the ground and pulled out a portable first-aid kit. Clive continued to huff as Keith got out a syringe and a glass container which held a clear liquid inside. "What is that?" Clive asked as Keith drew from the glass with the syringe.

"It's morphine. It'll numb the pain." Keith said as he pulled the syringe from the bottle with care.

Clive huffed and started to chuckle. "Kids, these days seem to only get smarter." Clive said.

"It seems that way." Zach said with a proud smirk. Although Keith wasn't his son, he felt proud to be looking after the smart boy. Even if Keith wasn't so smart, Zach would still be proud to have him as a son.

Keith inserted the needle into Clive's arm and injected the morphine as the man groaned. "I hated needles when I was a kid. I guess some things never change." Clive said.

"Well, then I have bad news for you. I'm going to be using a needle to stitch up your wound, but the good news is that the morphine will numb the pain." Keith said as he pulled the older man's sleeve down.

Clive gave the young boy an appreciative stare and he said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Keith said. He turned to his first-aid kit and used the water from a water bottle to clean the needle of the syringe. He placed the syringe back inside and grabbed a needle and some thread.

Clive chuckled and looked to Zach. "I thought you had a little girl." Clive said.

"I still do." Zach said as he watched Keith try to run the thread through the eye of the needle. "I have my little girl and my wife back at the cabin. They're with some other folks." Zach explained. "I've recently started looking after Keith and his baby sister, Madeline."

"Wow, you must be a family man." Clive said.

"Yeah. I've always wanted to be a dad." Zach said.

Keith turned to Zach and he asked, "In that case, would you adopt me and Maddie… since you like being a dad?" The boy had a pair of pleading eyes aimed at Zach.

Zach smiled at the boy and said, "Of course hon. I just thought that you and your sister would like some time to recover from losing your parents."

Keith frowned and he said, "You saved us… both of us and I know you're a good daddy. You've been taking care of us for the last couple of days and you treated Maddie and me like we were your kids."

Zach walked up to the boy and squatted down next to him. "Keith, are you sure you want me as your dad? This is a very big decision."

"I'm sure, dad." Keith said with an overjoyed smile on his lips.

"Okay, I guess that means you're my son and Maddie's my daughter." Zach said.

"Thanks dad." Keith said. He placed the needle and thread back into the first-aid kit and hugged Zach. Zach returned the hug and patted the boy's back.

The two separated and looked to each other's eyes with a caring glance. Zach knew that Keith wasn't like most boys. Most boys were wild and not always very smart, but Keith acted the complete opposite. He was very calm and clever.

"Congratulations, but… can we finish this before I bleed out?" Clive said.

"Actually, we needed to waste time regardless but thanks." Keith said. He leaned over and pinched the man close to where his wound was. "Do you feel me pinching you?"

"No, I can't feel much of anything on that side." Clive said.

"Well, that's good." Keith said. "I can start stitching up your wound now." He turned to Zach and asked, "Can you take off his sweatshirt and shirt underneath? They'll only get in the way."

"Yeah." Zach said.

Zach got up and helped remove the dark green sweatshirt and white long sleeve turtleneck underneath as Clive started to doze off. "I hope… you didn't give me… too much… morphine."

"Morphine makes you sleepy, so it's normal to start falling asleep." Keith said.

"Oh… good." Clive said before he rested his head on the stone floor. Snoring soon emanated from the man as both Keith and Zach rolled their eyes.

"Well, I guess it's better than screaming from the pain of a needle." Keith said. He pushed Clive up to see an exit wound. The boy breathed a sigh of relief and he said, "Good, there's an exit wound."

"You can do this." Zach said. "I'll be standing by if you need anything."

"Thanks daddy." Keith said before he turned back to Clive. Zach smiled to see how confident his adopted son was. The boy stitched up the bullet wound rather quickly before he turned to Zach and said, "Can you turn him over"

"Yeah, I got it." Zach said. He got down to the ground and turned Clive on his side. The older man stirred a little but he went back to sleep.

Keith stitched up the supposed exit wound and placed the needle on the ground. He went through his first-aid kit again and pulled out some medical wrap and gauze. Zack understood what Keith was going to do next so he lifted Clive off the ground. Keith placed the gauze on the gunshot wound and wrapped around the wound from there. Eventually, Keith finished dressing the wound and tied it off.

"He should be okay." Keith said. "He just needs time to rest."

"Thank you, Keith. You did a good job." Zach said as he placed Clive on his back.

"Well, thank you for helping me." Keith said with an appreciative smile aimed at Zach. Zach smiled back before Keith looked back to Clive. "He might need something to stay warm." Keith said.

"I got a blanket in backpack." Zach said. He took off his backpack and placed it on the ground. He went through the backpack for a few seconds until he pulled out a blanket.

Keith took the blanket and placed it around Clive. He then breathed a sigh of relief before he grabbed the bottle of water and the needle. "Here, I'll help you a little." Zach said as he took the needle and water bottle.

"Thanks." Keith said as Zach poured some water onto the needle. It didn't take much to clean the needle so Zach looked to Keith and said, "Your turn." Keith nodded placed his hands out for Zach to clean them as well. Zach smirked to see that the boy's hands were just as small as Clementine's. He helped the boy clean his hands and place the water bottle and needle back into the first-aid kit.

"So, what do we do now?" Keith asked. "We can't go anywhere any time soon with Clive."

"You're right." Zach said. "We'll stay here for now." Zach placed the first-aid kit back into Keith's backpack and he placed both backpacks near a table. He got out Keith's notebook and pencil and went back to the boy. "So, we better get comfortable." Zach said as he handed Keith the notebook and pencil.

"Thanks." Keith said as he accepted the two items. He started to draw as Zach watched him. Zach was quite impressed by Keith's ability to draw. The boy was able to draw well, but Clementine was certainly better. She knew how to incorporate depth and shading, while Keith had only an elementary understanding of both. Still, his skills in drawing were very good for his age. Keith continued to draw while Zach observed the boy. The older of the two would occasionally check on Clive, but it seemed that the older man was getting better. Unfortunately, the walkers outside remained persistent. They were still trying to get inside, but as the hours passed, there seemed to be less and less walkers trying to get inside.

* * *

Zach could tell that Keith was getting tired. The boy's eyes would threaten to close before the boy would shake his head to fight off sleep. Additionally, the boy would yawn every once in a while. "I can tell you're tired." Zach said.

"Yeah, I guess I am a little sleepy." Keith said.

Zach looked out the window and noticed that the light of the sun was starting to become dim. It was evening. Zach got up and took the notebook and pencil from Keith.

"But I'm not done!" Keith protested. He sounded almost irritable and tired.

"Keith, honey, you're tired. Let's get some sleep. You can work on it some other time." Zach said in a calm voice. He placed the notebook and pencil in the boy's backpack and he continued, "Still, it looks really good so far. I'd say it's the best I've ever seen you do." He turned to see the boy looked down with a frown. "Hey, what's wrong?" Zach asked as he walked over to the boy and crouched down to his eye-level.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." Keith said.

"Keith, hon, you didn't snap at me. You should see what Natalie is like when I wake her up in the morning." Zach said. He was joking about the last part. Natalie usually woke up fine in the morning.

"I thought… I did." Keith said as he looked up to Zach.

"Nonsense." Zach said. He picked up the boy and walked over to the wall. He sat against it with Keith on his lap. The boy was stiff at first until Zach asked, "Are you okay?"

"I… um… my dad never cared about me as much as you do." Keith said. "It feels strange. Mom stopped cuddling with me when I turned seven and both of my previous dads wouldn't let me sit on their laps since I was too big."

"Well hon, as you can tell, I'm not like them." Zach said as he started to scratch the boy's back. Keith started to relax in Zach's grip as he continued, "I know you've been through a lot. Rebecca told me what happened to your older sister. You've been through a lot recently and somehow you had to grow up for your baby sister, but you don't have to do that anymore. Natalie and I are here for you."

Keith looked to Zach with a smile and said, "Thank you daddy. I love you."

"I love you, too." Zach said as he gave a comforting hug to the boy on his lap. The boy rested his head on Zach's chest as Zach loosened his grip and continued to scratch the boy's back. He knew that it would only be a matter of time till Keith was asleep. Soon, the boy's breathing started to calm and his body became completely relaxed. Keith was asleep.

Eventually, Zach rested his arm to his side and his head on the wall behind him and closed his eyes. He thought of his new role of being the father of an eight year old boy and a four year old girl. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he also knew that he would enjoy it.

**Hours Later**

Zach groaned as he woke up. He didn't have to look out the window to see what time it was. He could tell that is was early morning by the darkness within the room. He looked around the room and spotted Clive. The older man seemed to be peacefully asleep. However, Zach noticed that the walkers outside were no longer trying to get inside. Zach could hear their groans. Some were still near the shed, but they were dispersed.

"Keith, honey, wake up." Zach whispered to the boy.

The boy started to wake up as a yawn escaped his lips. "What's going on, dad?" Keith asked.

"It seems our friends outside are dispersed. Now's our chance to leave." Zach said. He looked down to his adopted son for his approval. It didn't take long since he didn't like being in the shed.

Keith got up from Zach's lap and the two walked over to retrieve their backpacks. Next, they went over to Clive. Zach got down and tried to shake the man awake while he said, "Clive, Clive, we gotta go."

The older man groaned as he awoke and he looked up to Zach. "Oh shit." Clive muttered.

"Are you okay?" Keith asked.

"I don't think I'm ready to move yet." Clive said. "I think I got some double vision going on." The father and son looked down in response. Both wanted to return to their family members. Zach knew that Clementine and Natalie would be worried to death for him and Keith. "Listen, I need to stay put for a while. Just come and get me with the rest of the group. I'll be fine till then."

"But we can't leave you here." Keith said.

Clive chuckled and said, "Kid, I would have died yesterday if it wasn't for you and Zach. I won't die here, so get going." He turned his head to Zach and gave him a nod as an indication to move on.

Zach huffed and said, "Alright, stay safe, Clive. There's still a lot we need to talk about."

"Yeah, about that. I'm sorry that Vernon took that boat from you and your crew. We tried to talk some sense into him, but he was too stubborn. I didn't want to be left on my own. I would have died if I did." Clive said.

"That herd…. Vernon saw that herd, didn't he?" Zach asked.

"Yeah. He told us about that herd. I never seen him so scared in my life. Not even when we were under Crawford's rule, did I ever see him as freaked out." Clive said. "Anyway, you both better get going."

"We'll come back for you, Clive. We promise." Keith said.

Clive smirked at the boy before he looked to Zach. "Make sure you keep that boy from becoming like his father." Clive said. Both Zach and Keith looked to Clive with wide eyes. They both wondered if Clive knew. "There's a lot of evil in this world and children like him who have hope and innocence are very rare. But what would I know. I can tell that you're a good father."

"Wait, you know?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, I can tell that you got a few traits from Carver, but not many. Still, I'm glad you're not like him." Clive said. The older man groaned as he got up. He then limped over to the door where the crate was. His steps were wobbly as Zach and Keith watched him. Zach knew that the gunshot wound and the morphine were making it hard for him to move. He finally reached the door and pulled the crate away. "Go and good luck." Clive said.

"You got it." Zach said as he walked up to the door. He pulled out his katana while Keith got his slingshot out. Zach turned to the boy and said, "Let's go. Stay close to me."

Keith nodded and Zach opened the door. He exited the shed first followed by Keith. The two tried to stay stealthy but they knew it would only be a matter of time till the walkers picked up on their scent. Zach slashed at a nearby walker and it fell to the ground. They continued to keep going until Zach could hear a growl from behind. He turned just in time to see a walker pin Keith down. The boy screamed in surprise by the walker. Zach slashed at the walker's head and kicked it off the boy.

He turned to see that the other walkers had noticed what happened. They extended their arms out and limped toward the two survivors. "Shit, we gotta make tracks." Zach said as he sheathed his katana. He picked up the frightened boy and ran as fast as he could. He ran out of the way of a couple walkers and headed straight for the cabin. After running for a few minutes, he looked back and saw that there were no walkers. "That was close." Zach said. He placed Keith on the ground and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it just scared me. Thanks dad." Keith said.

"You don't have to thank me. It's a dad's job to look after his children." Zach said. "Come on. Let's get to the cabin."

Yeah, okay." Keith said with a smirk. The two proceeded through the forest as the darkness around them turned to light. The sun rose above the tree line as Zach and Keith walked toward the cabin.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: In all honesty, I have no idea what I'm going to do with Clive. I just wanted to add him into the story.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Well, I have to give a shout-out to FanFic Productions for giving me some ideas in this chapter. And of course, I do not own Madeline Carver. She belongs to FanFic Productions. Finally, I'm not going to lie, there is a scene that is Rated M in this chapter… it's near the end…. You've been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach and Keith approached the cabin as the morning sun got higher in the sky. "Well, that little fishing trip took longer than I thought." Zach said. "I blame it on the walkers. They always seem to mess up a simple task."

Keith chuckled and said, "We should get back at them. Next time, they have a party we should ruin it."

"Exactly." Zach said with a smirk. Keith started to giggle as Zach continued, "Better yet, next time the walkers have a parade, we'll ruin it. That'll teach them." Keith continued to giggle, but soon, the two reached the door to the cabin. Keith's giggling stopped and instead he looked to the cabin in fear. Zach hated to return to a place that the boy dreaded, but he had no choice. His family was inside. There was only one person inside that Keith feared and that was Carlos. "You okay to head back inside?" Zach asked the boy.

Keith shrugged and said, "I don't have much of a choice. My baby sister is inside."

"Don't worry too much. I'll keep you safe." Zach said. The boy nodded and smiled his adoptive father. Zach looked back to the door and turned the doorknob. He entered the house first, followed by Keith. Both could hear Nick which surprised them. They didn't know what happened to him after they left the river.

"I'm telling you. They're dead." Nick said. Carlos and Rebecca were at the table. Zach could see them turn their gaze to him and Keith. Carlos had a glare and he got out of his seat. "Oh great, it's you two. I guess you were wrong after all, Nick." Carlos said.

Nick turned to Zach and glared at him as well. "You… you motherf*****! You left my uncle to die!"

"I didn't have a choice. I had an eight year old and injured man with me. I can't always be the f****** hero, especially when I don't want to be. I want my family to survive and if that means that people have to die, then that's how it's going to be." Zach said. In response, Nick pushed Zach and his glare intensified.

"Wait a minute, where's Alvin and Luke?" Rebecca asked as she got out of her seat. Her face showed fear and anxiety.

"I don't know. We've been stuck in a shed for a day." Zach said.

"I'm in no mood for your f******* games." Carlos snapped as he got closer to Zach. "Where are they?"

"I already told you that I don't know. Now, both of you get out of my face." Zach said before he shoved Nick and Carlos away.

"Zach, what happened?" Rebecca asked.

"The river… it was a massacre. There were several bodies there. I was able to find someone who was alive. He told me that Carver was behind it all." Zach said.

"I knew it!" Carlos snapped. "I knew we couldn't trust that stupid boy and his stupid sister." The doctor approached Keith, but the boy immediately went behind Zach. Once again, the two men stared each other down, but Rebecca had no patience for Carlos's vendetta.

"We don't have time for this shit!" Rebecca said to Carlos. The older man turned to Rebecca with a hurt gaze. "We need to go out there and find my husband." Rebecca said.

"Just hold on. We can't leave some psycho like Zach with my daughter." Carlos said.

"Yeah, who knows what he'll do!" Nick said

"My husband is still out there! Get the guns!" Rebecca exclaimed. She left no room for Carlos or Nick to argue. Carlos ran out of the kitchen to fetch the guns while Nick started to grumble to himself. "Alvin and Luke went out looking for you. I told them not to go. I told them that if anyone can survive out there, it was you. Dammit Luke." Rebecca said.

Carlos returned with a hunting rifle and an 8 mm handgun and gave the hunting rifle to Rebecca. Carlos then turned to Nick and gave him a fresh clip of ammo. The three turned to the door and started to head out until Carlos turned to Zach. "Stay away from my daughter. If I hear that you went near her, I will kill Clementine, then Keith, and finally Madeline. And I will make sure that they all die very painfully."

Zach was left unsettled by Carlos's gruesomeness, but he remained calm and crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't you have more important things to do like helping your friends?" Zach asked. The wheels started to turn in Zach's head. It was time that he killed Carlos. No matter what would happen today, Zach would make sure that Carlos would be dead. His plan was already in motion. All he had to do was stay calm and show no anger towards the doctor, so that when he killed Carlos, the group would have no evidence against Zach.

"I'll kill everything that you hold dear… mark my words." Carlos said before he left to join up with Rebecca and Nick.

"He… He's not going to hurt us, right?" Keith asked.

Zach crouched down to the boy's height and said, "Of course not, hon. I won't let him." Zach said.

A smile formed on Keith's lips and he said, "That's good. Will Natalie accept me as her son?"

"I'll have to talk to her about it, but we kind of already talked about the possibility of you and Maddie becoming our children." Zach said.

"That's good. Thanks again, dad. It feels really good to have a mom and dad again." Keith said.

"You're welcome, hon. Now, let's go find Natalie." Zach said as he got back up. Keith nodded and he headed for the kitchen door that would lead to the living room.

Zach followed but not before hearing Sarah. "Say cheese." Sarah said. Zach saw a bright light from the living room and Keith started to rub his eyes with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"Wow that was bright." Keith said.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Natalie asked as she walked up to the boy.

"Yeah, I… I guess I wasn't expecting it." Keith said as he looked up to Natalie. Zach entered the room and hugged his wife.

"I'm glad you're both safe." Natalie said. She kissed Zach before she bent down and picked up Keith. Keith seemed to enjoy Natalie's embrace as the woman wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Daddy!" Clementine exclaimed. She ran to Zach who picked her up and held her tight. "You're okay." Clementine said as she enjoyed her father's embrace.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Zach said. He kissed her on the cheek before he placed her on the ground. Keith was also on the ground but he soon received a hug from Madeline.

"I miss you, big brother." Madeline said.

"Aww, I missed you too." Keith said as he hugged her back.

Zach smiled at the scene before he turned to Natalie. She also enjoyed the scene in front of her. "I need to talk to you in private." Zach said.

Natalie turned to Zach and said, "Okay… Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's just that we need to talk about some things." Zach said. He turned his head to Clementine and said, "Come on. We're going to need to talk to you as well."

"Okay… Am I in trouble?" Clementine asked. Her earlier smile had turned into a worried and anxious frown. Zach and Natalie rarely ever punished her, but she knew when her parents were going to talk to her that she was in trouble.

Zach chuckled and said, "No, it's just… a really important thing that we need to talk about."

"Okay." Clementine said with her smile returning. The three headed for the kitchen, and Zach and Natalie went to a chair. Zach placed Clementine on his lap and he wrapped his arms around her waist. The girl enjoyed a moment to cuddle with her father as Zach looked to Natalie.

"Well, a lot happened yesterday." Zach said. He paused for a moment and thought of the unfortunate events of yesterday. He didn't like that Carver was so close to the house. He kept wondering in his mind if Carver knew where the Luke and his group were.

"Zach, what happened?" Natalie asked.

Zach shook his head out of his daze and he huffed. "Down at the river… it was a massacre." Natalie's eyes widened while Clementine gasped. "Everyone we found was unarmed and was shot through the head… except for one person. I'm not sure if it was sloppiness or done intentionally." Zach said.

"Who was it?" Clementine asked.

"Clive." Zach said.

"Wait a minute… that jerk who was with Vernon and locked us in the shed?" Natalie asked with an angered look.

"Yeah. His group is dead and he would have died too, if Keith and I hadn't helped him." Zach said.

Natalie looked to Zach with a perplexed stare and said, "You helped him? Usually, you wouldn't take that chance."

"There's no risk involved this time." Zach said. "Besides, I need to know more about this Carver guy. With it being a touchy subject with Keith and Maddie and with Luke and his group being quiet about him, Clive would be the best person I can turn to. He knows what he looks like, how he acts, and some of his weaknesses."

"I… I guess you're right. But how do we know we can trust Clive?" Natalie asked.

"I know what you mean. We'll have to keep an eye on him, but he seems remorseful, so let's give him a chance." Zach said.

"Okay…" Natalie said. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, actually…" Zach said. He looked down to Clementine and asked, "So, Natalie and I know that you've been wanting some siblings recently. Is that right?"

Clementine smiled to her father and nodded. "Yeah, is mommy going to have a baby?" Clementine asked as she looked Natalie.

"Well, not exactly sweetheart." Natalie said. "Your father and I have been talking about adopting Keith and Maddie, would you like to have them as you siblings?"

"Yeah, I would like that." Clementine said. "Keith's a lot of fun and Maddie can be pretty silly."

"I'm glad to hear that sweetheart. It's a big decision. Will you be okay with having two siblings?" Zach asked.

"I think so." Clementine said.

"We'll do our very best to look after all three of you and to make sure you feel loved." Natalie said.

"Thanks mommy, but I know you love me." Clementine said with a big smile.

"That's my girl." Zach said as he hugged the girl on his lap. "I'm glad you're ready to have a couple of siblings."

"Well, we ought to go tell Keith and Maddie." Natalie said.

"Well, I kind of already adopted Keith. I adopted him when we went into a shed yesterday. There was a herd that was chasing us." Zach said.

"Zachary…" Natalie said as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, come on. It's no big deal. Let's go talk to Keith and Madeline." Zach said. He kissed his daughter's head and placed her back on the ground. Natalie got up from the table and Zach followed.

The family headed into the living room to see Keith and Sarah playing a game of chess. There were pieces scattered throughout the board and Keith looked completely stumped on what to do. Madeline sat next to him and watched him and Sarah. The two adults and Clementine approached Keith and Zach said, "How are you holding up? You beating Sarah?"

"Not a chance. She's really good at this." Keith said.

"You should give yourself some credit." Sarah said. "You're doing better than a lot of the adults."

Zach chuckled and turned to Natalie. "Speaking of which, you're going to be his teacher."

"What makes you think that?" Natalie asked.

"The boy's a genius. He was able to stitch up Clive's gunshot wound like a pro." Zach said. In response, Keith scratched back of his neck and started to blush.

"Hello?" A voice was heard from behind the front door which was followed by a series of knocks.

Sarah, Keith, and Madeline gasped upon hearing the voice. All three had fear in their eyes. "It's… It's Carver." Keith said.

"Oh shit." Zach muttered. He looked to Natalie and said, "Get them upstairs and hide."

"What about you?" Natalie asked.

"I'll take care of it." Zach said.

Natalie nodded and she went to Madeline to pick her up. "Come on, follow me." Natalie said as she placed Madeline on her hip. Zach watched her go up the stairs with Sarah, Keith, and Clementine following behind her.

"Anyone home?" The voice asked from behind the door. Zach went to the door and turned the doorknob. He opened it to see an older man standing in front of him. He had graying hair, but he was quite strong looking. "Why hello there…" Carver said with an intimidating smile. "How are you doing on this fine day?" Zach looked at the man. He wore a brown fur coat, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of boots. However, the distinguishing feature about the man was his eyes. Zach had seen the look in his eyes before… he saw the same look when he looked in a mirror.

"Alright." Zach said as he leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't get visitors out here very often. Is there something that I can help you with?"

"As a matter of fact you can, but first, I think it would only be polite if you would let me come inside. The sun out here has got me cooked." Carver said.

Zach stared at the man before he said, "Alright." He stepped back and allowed Carver to enter the cabin.

"Well, now, this here is a real nice place. Is there anyone else around?" Carver asked as he looked at the decorated living room and the fish trophies on the wall.

"My wife and daughter, but that's it." Zach said.

"Hmm… where are they at?" Carver asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I told them to hide when we heard knocking at the door." Zach said. "So is there a reason why you're out here? You lookin for some lost people or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." Carver said. "I'm looking for nine of my people. They got separated and I'm afraid that they've gotten lost. A couple of farm boys and an old man. A Spanish man and his daughter. A quiet little girl. She's about nine but looks to be seven or eight. A big black guy, about this big." The man indicated with his hands to show a large stomach. "A pretty, little pregnant lady, a little boy with shaggy hair… almost looks like a girl, and a little weak girl who's around four."

"That's quite a few people to lose. I hope I don't get your luck." Zach said.

"Tell me about it. This whole thing is a damn mess." Carver complained. He looked to the kitchen door and went inside the kitchen. Zach followed as the man looked around the kitchen. He finally went up to the sink and said, "Well it looks like a damn tornado ran through here. Lot of plates for three people."

"Yeah, my wife and I were going to wash the dishes today." Zach said.

"You gotta kid, don't you?" Carver said. "Just make her do it."

"We want her to enjoy her childhood." Zach said as he leaned against the counter.

"So, you passing by or have you been here for a while?" Carver asked. "Listen, I'm hoping that you aren't going north and hoping to find Shangri-La. I'm not sure why you would go anywhere after finding this place."

"Just passing through, heading north." Zach said.

"A whole lot of people are heading north recently. Me, I don't get it. There's just a whole lot of nothing up there just like there is down here." Carver said.

"It might be worth the trek." Zach said. "You never know what you'll find, if you search hard enough."

"Hmm… possibly." Carver said. Both men stared into each other's eyes for several seconds until Carver spoke again. "This is actually a first for me. I usually don't have such a hard time reading someone."

"You and I both." Zach said as he stood upright. "Let's cut to the chase. My name is Zach. Your name is Carver. The people you're looking for aren't here at the moment, so I suggest you go get your reinforcements because you're going to need it."

"Oh, how so?" Carver asked with an amused stare.

"Well, you'll die if you don't." Zach said. "You may be strong and persistent, but to go against so many people with just a pistol and your brute strength is suicide."

"Hmm… good point." Carver said. "I wasn't prepared to find them here. It was all just a guess, but it paid off."

"You're in my debt." Zach said. "You'd still be guessing that they would be here if I hadn't told you."

"Maybe… I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again soon." Carver said as he made his way to the door to head outside.

"Perhaps." Zach said.

"You have a nice day." Carver said as he opened the door and headed outside. It was followed by the door closing shut.

Zach turned and headed to the living room. "Alright, it's safe to come out now! He's gone!" Zach said. He sat down on the couch and he could hear the pitter patter of shoes on the staircase.

"Where is he?" Sarah asked.

"Gone, but not for long." Zach said. He got back up and looked to Sarah. "Come on, we're going to need to pack up. He's going to come back."

"How do you know?" Natalie asked.

"He's persistent. He's not just going to let a strong lead like this place just pass him by. If anything, I think he was testing me." Zach lied.

"Okay, go help Sarah, and I'll help Clem and Keith get ready." Natalie said.

Zach nodded and looked to the frightened girl. "Come on, Sarah." Zach said as he extended his hand to the girl. Sarah held onto it and he led the girl upstairs. With Sarah's help, Zach packed a couple of books, clothing, and other items to help her on the road. He didn't know when Carver would return, but Zach knew that time was against him.

**One Hour Later**

Zach paced back and forth while Natalie watched Clementine draw. Keith and Sarah were back to playing chess. Meanwhile, Madeline was having her nap. Zach grumbled and he stopped. "We can't wait any longer." Zach said. "Come on. We need to go."

"Zach, wait. I get it. You're anxious. I am too, but… we can't go out there. We got three children under ten and a baby." Natalie said. "There's no way we can take care of them all and deal with the walkers at the same time."

Zach growled as he realized that his wife was right. Suddenly, he could hear the door opening in the kitchen. Zach looked to Natalie and the three children. He pressed a finger to his lips to signal them to stay quiet. They nodded and Zach headed for the kitchen, but he was surprised and relieved to hear Luke's voice.

"Home, sweet home." Luke said from behind the door. Zach breathed a sigh of relief and backed away from the kitchen door.

He looked back to see Natalie and the three children were also relieved. He turned back to the door to see Luke enter. "Hey Zach. Good to see that you're alright." Luke said.

The other group members followed inside with Nick looking depressed and saddened.

"Sarah." Carlos said as he went to the girl, and the two shared a quick hug.

"Nick told us that you found a survivor at the river. Is he still good? If so, we need to find him. He might have valuable information for us." Luke said.

"Yeah, I had to leave him in a shed a little ways from here. He should still be alive." Zach said.

"A man was here." Sarah said as Carlos released her from the hug

"What?" Carlos exclaimed.

"What did she say?" Rebecca asked.

"Someone came to the cabin… Zach talked to him." Sarah said.

"…And you just opened the door for him?" Rebecca inquired.

"Rebecca calm down." Luke said.

"Calm down? I am calm! You calm down!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"He was coming in either way. At least by letting him in, I was talking to him on my own terms." Zach said.

"I knew it! I knew we couldn't trust him!" Carlos exclaimed. "You put my daughter's life in danger for the last time!" Carlos placed the barrel of his gun in Zach's face but the former marine didn't flinch in the slightest.

"Whoa, whoa, Carlos!" Luke exclaimed.

"Carlos, put the gun down." Alvin said. "Shooting Zach isn't going to solve anything."

"We're wasting time. Carver will be back any minute. More than likely, he'll be armed and have guards." Zach said.

"He's right. We need to get out of here." Rebecca said.

Carlos growled and he lowered his weapon with a scowl aimed at Zach. "If anything happens to us, it will be all your fault." Carlos said before he stomped up the stairs which was followed by the door slamming shut.

"Charming." Zach muttered. He soon heard huffing that was starting to become whimpering. Zach looked over to Madeline and noticed that she had woken up from her nap. The stupid doctor must have woken her up when he slammed the door upstairs. Zach went to the girl and picked her up. "It's okay, baby. Go back to sleep." Zach said to the toddler as he bobbed her in his arms to calm her down.

"So wait, are you sure it was Carver?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, Keith confirmed it." Zach said.

"Right… well shit… This isn't good." Luke said. He looked up to his group and said, "Everyone pack up. We're moving out."

"Got it… We'll be ready to go in a few minutes." Alvin said, and he and Rebecca headed upstairs.

"Looks like you're stuck with us." Luke said. "It'd be too dangerous to try and go alone, especially when Carver knows that you're with us."

"I'm fine with traveling with a group again." Zach said. "I haven't had a group in a long time."

"What happened to your group?" Luke asked.

"Most of them died, but as for the rest, we got separated by a huge herd." Natalie said. "We think they might be alive."

"I hope so. Maybe you guys will run into them again." Luke said.

"I hope so, but for now, we need to get out of here." Zach said.

"Yeah, you're right about that." Luke said. "Wait for us outside. We'll be ready to go in a few minutes." Zach nodded in response and watched Luke and Nick head upstairs. Zach huffed and he headed outside. He knew that Madeline was asleep in his arms.

Natalie, Clementine, and Keith followed Zach and the family of five waited for the rest of the group. Zach knew it wasn't going to be an easy trek for anyone. He would have to keep an eye out for Carver, an eye on Carlos, and try to keep Clementine, Keith, and Madeline safe. Zach knew that he had his work cut out for him.

* * *

The group made its way through the forest with each member staying close to the other. "Now you said it was just up here?" Luke asked as he went ahead of the group. He was followed by Carlos and Sarah. The older man would look back to Zach and glare at him every once in a while. Zach was unfortunate enough to be walking behind Carlos. Natalie walked next to him and both adults would look back to check on their adopted children. Following the three children was Rebecca and Alvin. Finally, Nick was in the very back of the group.

"Yeah, just a little ways." Zach said.

"Hey Zach. Sorry about… all that back there." Nick said as he walked next to Zach. "I guess I've been a little hard on you."

"You think?" Zach inquired.

"Hey man, this hasn't been easy for me." Nick complained.

"Well boo hoo, Nick." Zach said. "I lost my entire family at the beginning of all of this, but I didn't go out of my way to blame someone for it. I had a few dark thoughts after it happened, but then… well… I had to pick up the shattered pieces of my life and move on."

"Look, I'm trying to be nice, asshole." Nick snapped.

"Alright, that's fine, but here's a piece of advice. People who dwell in the past, usually stay in the past. The time will come when you have to decide whether you want to stay in the past or try to create your own future." Zach said. "I chose the latter, and I'm very glad that I did."

There was a long pause from Nick which was followed by a huff. "Alright… thanks." Nick said before he slowed his pace and went to the back of the group.

Zach shook his head until he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The area looked familiar. Zach continued to look around until Natalie asked, "What is it?"

"I…I know this area." Zach said. "The shed's nearby." He walked off the path and headed into the forest.

"Zach, wait up." Luke said. Zach turned back to Luke to see the young man approaching him. "I'm going to help you out."

Zach nodded and the two approached the shed. There were still a few walkers near the entrance, but the shed doors remained intact. Zach walked up to the shed and slashed at a couple of the walkers that stood in his way. Luke accompanied him and slashed at a walker with his machete. The remaining group members joined them as the two men tried to shove the doors open. Zach and Luke grunted as they pushed against the doors but they wouldn't budge.

"What on earth is on the other side of this thing?" Luke asked.

Zach pounded his fist on the door and said, "Clive, open the door." The two could hear something heavy from inside being dragged away before the doors opened. Clive stood in front of the two men. He had his turtleneck shirt and sweatshirt back on. "How are you holding up?" Zach asked.

"About as good as can be expected… but I'll live." Clive said.

"So, Carver was behind that whole massacre at the river?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. There ain't much I can tell you. After I got shot, they blabbered on about finding this Luke fella and his group." Clive said.

"Yeah… that's me. My name's Luke." Luke said as he shook Clive's hand. He turned to his group members and gestured to Alvin and Rebecca. "That's Alvin and Rebecca." Alvin and Rebecca gave friendly smiles to Clive. Luke turned to Carlos and Sarah next and said, "That's Carlos and his daughter, Sarah." Sarah waved while Carlos crossed his arms over his chest and gave Clive a glare. Luke then turned to Nick and said, "And that there is Nick." However, the young man didn't acknowledge Clive. He was stuck in his own world.

"Nice to meet you all. I've been needing a new group for a while." Clive said. "I ain't as young as I used to be and this body is becoming more useless every passing day."

"Don't get used to it." Carlos hissed. "This is a temporary arrangement."

"Let's talk about this on the road." Alvin said. "I bet Carver's getting real close to finding us."

"Shit… Carver's chasing y'all?" Clive asked.

"Yeah, he went to the cabin that we were staying in." Zach said. "I bought us some time but not much."

"Alright. Well… let's get going." Clive said. He looked up and his eyes widened in horror. "Shit, watch it!" He ran toward Natalie and the children and wacked a glass bottle over a walker's head. None of the group heard the walker's approach. What was worse was that there were more walkers limping toward them.

The first walker pinned Clive to the ground. The older man groaned as he struggled with the walker. However, Zach ran over and stabbed the walker in the skull with his katana. He kicked the walker off of Clive and asked, "You alright?" He extended his hand out to Clive to help him up.

"Yeah, thanks." Clive said as he accepted the help up.

Zach turned to see some of the group firing at the walkers. He looked around to see that Keith and Madeline were close to Natalie, but Sarah and Clementine were starting to become surrounded. Clementine was firing at the walkers with her handgun while Sarah was starting to panic.

Zach ran towards the girls but a walker stumbled into his path. Zach backed away and dealt a slash to its skull. He watched as Carlos ran past him and headed for Sarah and Clementine. "Help Clementine and Sarah!" Zach told Carlos.

The other group members continued to fire at the dwindling herd as Zach got past a couple of walkers and saw Carlos pick up his own daughter but when Clementine went to him to hold his hand. The doctor pushed her away from him and toward an approaching walker. He then ran off with Sarah in his arms.

"You son of a bitch!" Zach bellowed. He wanted to kill the man now more than ever, but first, he had to save his daughter.

"No, no, no!" Clementine exclaimed as the walkers got closer. Zach ran to her aid and extended his hand out. The walker got down and was about to chomp on the girl's neck. She tried to push it away but her small body wasn't strong enough to keep the monster away. She screamed as the walker got closer to her neck until Zach placed his hand in the creature's mouth.

Zach grunted as the walker bit down and he yelled as he mustered a good portion of his strength to push the walker off of his daughter. He slammed the creature to the ground and retrieved his hand from the creature's mouth. He had a new bite wound, curtesy of the walker. He turned back to the walker and stomped on the creature's head until the skull busted open.

Zach huffed as all the gunfire stopped. He looked up to see that all the walkers were dead. Zach turned to Clementine and knelt down to her height. "Come here, sweetheart. You okay?" Zach asked as he brought the girl into a hug. Clementine whimpered a bit as Zach rubbed circles on her back. "Shh… you're okay. Daddy's here." Zach said to soothe her. The girl's whimpering soon subsided and Zach got up.

"Zach… my gosh… you're bit." Luke said as he looked to Zach with an apologetic stare.

"Yeah..." Zach said as he looked to Carlos with a glare. However, Zach wasn't the only one who looked to the man with a glare. Almost everyone looked to the Spanish doctor with a glare… even Clementine sent him a glare. There were only three group members that didn't glare at Carlos which were Sarah, Madeline, and Keith. The brother and sister were starting to whimper and Sarah looked to her father with a disappointed look.

"What the f*** was that?" Clive inquired.

"I… I had to protect my daughter. I wanted to help Clementine, but my daughter came first. Zach would have done the same." Carlos explained.

"No, he wouldn't!" Luke exclaimed as he gritted his teeth. "He looked after your daughter for you back at the cabin when Carver came!"

"He also tried to encourage Sarah to have fun with children her age!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"He put my daughter in danger!" Carlos argued.

"Shut the f*** up!" Natalie bellowed. Zach's eyes widened upon hearing Natalie swear. It wasn't like her in the slightest, but he knew that she was fed up with the doctor. "You want to know the truth. You're the true threat to this group. Everyone hates you, your daughter is scared of you, and you are a worthless coward!"

Although most of the group members were shocked by Natalie's outburst, they knew she was right. Carlos was stunned to receive such hatred. He tried to speak to defend himself, but every time he opened his mouth, nothing came out. Instead, he lowered his head in shame.

Luke sighed and he looked to Zach. "Zach, I'm so sorry this happened. Maybe… maybe we can amputate it." Luke said.

"That won't be necessary." Zach said. "I'm sorry that I didn't trust you enough, but there is a secret that I've been hiding from you all except for Natalie and Clem… I'm immune to the virus." All eyes widened upon hearing the news… even Carlos was shocked by the secret. "I was bitten a day after the dead started roaming… and I was bitten by my ex-wife, Amaya."

"See… we can't trust him! He hid such an important secret from us!" Carlos exclaimed.

"There's a reason why I didn't tell you all!" Zach exclaimed. "I couldn't trust some of you! I wanted to see how things worked out before I talked to any of you."

"The way I see it… you're in the wrong here, Carlos." Nick said.

"Nick's right." Luke said. "We can't trust you anymore."

"I was only trying to look after my daughter!" Carlos exclaimed.

"The same daughter that you abuse and mistreat? You could have saved her and Clementine, and you damn well know it!" Zach exclaimed as he approached the doctor. Zach glared at the doctor before he turned to Luke. "I'm going to go get this wound cleaned up. Wait for me near the path."

"Yeah, okay." Luke said.

Zach walked off as he examined his new wound. He grumbled to himself as he went deeper into the forest. He soon stopped and placed his backpack on the ground. He rummaged through his backpack and retrieved a water bottle from it. He poured some water on the wound as he heard leaves crunching from behind.

"Zach." Carlos said.

"What do you want?" Zach hissed.

"I… I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I went too far back there." Carlos said.

Zach huffed as he looked up. He saw a walker approaching him and Carlos. "Please forgive me. I was wrong." Carlos said. "We need to keep moving and get back to the group."

"There is no 'we.'" Zach said.

"Wha-?" Carlos asked, but before he could continue, Zach got up and unsheathed his katana. In one swipe, he sliced Carlos's abdomen open. Carlos cried out in pain as his blood and intestines fell from the gaping wound. Zach then took hold of the foreign man and pushed him into the walker. The two fell to the ground with the walker grabbing Carlos's intestines. Zach smiled and chuckled as he watched the walker tear Carlos apart. All the while, Carlos screamed in pain.

"Good bye Carlos. I hope you have a good day." Zach said with a smile. He grabbed his backpack and headed back to rejoin the others.

…**To be continued. **

**A/N: Well, Zach is showing more of his sociopathic side with that last scene.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Madeline Carver. She belongs to FanFic Productions.**

Zach ran through the forest as he tried to calm himself down. He couldn't be smiling or laughing in front of the group. He wasn't going to allow his inner demons to surface while he was with the group… at least not now. He had to make it look like he was the good guy in the whole scenario. Finally, he could see Luke, Clive, Alvin, and Nick approaching him. "Zach, what happened?" Luke asked.

Zach placed his hands on his knees and huffed to catch his breath.

"We heard screaming. Is everything alright?" Clive asked.

"Walkers… they got the jump on me and Carlos." Zach huffed.

"Where's my dad?" Sarah asked. Zach looked up to see that his family, Rebecca, and Sarah were approaching the group. He noticed that Sarah was starting to shake and her eyes were wide. She must have been afraid that Carlos didn't make it.

Zach shook his head and said, "There was nothing I could do for him."

"What…? No….!" Sarah cried and she started to whimper. She closed her eyes and tears fell down her face.

"F***…. I feel so bad." Luke said. "After everything we said to him…"

"We don't have time to waste. The herd that attacked us is on its way here." Zach said.

"Right, okay. Come on y'all. We gotta go!" Luke said.

"Sarah, come on, baby. We need to go." Rebecca said to the girl, but the nine year old wasn't paying attention. She was devastated over what happened to her father. "Alvin, can you carry her?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, I got her." Alvin said. The stocky man went up to Sarah and picked her up. The girl yelped but Alvin calmed her down quickly. "It's okay, honey. I got you." Alvin said as he bobbed the small nine year old in his arms. This seemed to calm her; her body was less tensed and her head rested on the stocky man's shoulder.

The group moved forward with Luke taking the lead. Alvin and Rebecca behind him; Zach and his family were behind the couple; and Nick and Clive were in the very back of the group. Nick was stuck in his own world again, but Clive was looking in all directions.

"You okay, Clive?" Zach asked.

Clive looked to Zach with a stern look and shook his head. "I don't like that Carver's chasing us. It's putting me on edge. At least last time was a sneak attack and no one was expecting it."

"We can still probably lose him if we can get to the mountains. But it might take us four to five days to reach them." Luke said.

"Five days?" Rebecca asked with worry in her voice.

"It's going to be okay, Bec." Alvin said in an attempt to comfort his wife. Sarah appeared to be asleep in Alvin's arms. She was rather small for her age, so it must have been easy for Alvin to carry her.

"We'll have to make some stops and keep Rebecca hydrated." Natalie said.

Yeah, um… since Carlos… is gone… do you have experience to um…?" Luke asked.

"I've helped deliver a baby before." Natalie said.

Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, thank you." Rebecca said as she looked back to Natalie.

"No problem." Natalie said. The group continued with their march through the woods in silence for the most part. They were now in a race to get away from Carver and his men while avoiding the walkers.

**5 Days Later**

It had been a long trek through the forest for the group. They were all exhausted… even the children were starting to become worn out. Zach looked out to the ledge and saw the surrounding mountain range. He went up to the ledge where Luke was. He followed Luke's line of vision and asked, "Is that the bridge you were talking about?"

"Yeah, it is." Luke said. "It'd be nice to know what we got up ahead."

"Yeah… it would." Zach said. He turned to his family and approached Clementine. He crouched down to her height and asked, "Sweetheart, you think you can get on daddy's shoulders and look through the binoculars for us. We'd like to know what's up ahead."

"I don't mind." Clementine said.

"That's my girl." Zach said. He got up and led her to the ledge.

"Just be careful with her, Zachary." Natalie said.

"I'm always careful, my dear." Zach said as he rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a pair of binoculars.

"I got to give it to you. That's a good joke." Natalie said with a teasing voice.

"Why, thank you." Zach said with a smirk. He chuckled before bent down and picked up his eight year old daughter. He placed her on his shoulders and asked, "Alright, what do you see?"

"There's a huge building on the top of the mountain." Clementine said.

"That's probably the ski lodge that were aiming for." Luke said. "See anything else?"

"I see a lift of some kind." Clementine said after a few seconds passed by.

"A ski lift probably." Alvin said. "Bec and I went on once."

"It wasn't pretty." Rebecca said with a chuckle.

"I never went skiing." Clementine said with a saddened voice. Zach looked up to see Clementine scanning the area for any other formations. She always did well at looking for small details. "I see the bridge and there's a house next to it." Clementine said.

"How big is the house?" Clive asked.

"It's really small." Clementine replied. She looked down to Zach and said, "There's nothing else I can see. Can I come down?"

"Sure sweetie." Zach said as he picked her up from his shoulders and placed her back on the ground.

"Alright, how should we do this?" Clive asked. "It would be a little risky to move across that bridge with everyone."

"Yeah, you're right." Luke said. "Zach and I will go across that bridge low and slow and make sure everything checks out alright."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Clive said.

"Yeah, I'm in." Zach said.

"Just be careful, okay?" Natalie said as she approached Zach.

"Always am." Zach said as he kissed her. For once, neither adult heard Madeline groan in disgust from seeing the adults kissing. She must have been getting used to it or she was tired. Zach figured it was the latter. The two separated and Zach walked over to Luke.

"We'll signal you guys in ten minutes. Just watch for a light at the far side." Luke said.

"I should go with you." Nick said. He had his hunting rifle at the ready and appeared to be tense. He was ready to shoot whatever would move.

"Just stay with the group." Luke said.

"Luke, I'm fine… Just let me come." Nick said.

"No, you should stay here. Someone's going to need to protect the group and Clive can't do it all by himself." Zach said.

"Exactly… just be ready to move." Luke said and he turned to head toward the bridge.

"If something happens, I'll cover you." Nick said.

Luke stopped in place and turned to Zach. "Come on." Luke said. Zach nodded and the two men headed toward the bridge.

* * *

"I'm sorry about that back there, but I could really use your eyes right now." Luke said to Zach. "Quite frankly, I don't trust Nick to tie his own shoelaces. Clive's even worse. Then there's those two kids that you're looking after." Luke sighed before he continued. "They're all still on edge after the whole Carver thing."

"Yeah, I get it. I was on edge for a while too." Zach said. "There was this man who abducted my little girl."

"Holy shit… he wasn't going to…" Luke asked.

"Hard to tell." Zach said. "He definitely lost his mind. My guess is that he wanted to start a family and I guess Clem was the first piece to that puzzle."

"But you stopped him." Luke said.

"Yeah, but I lost a good friend on the way, and I got separated by a couple of other good friends and their daughter." Zach said.

"Damn… that's rough." Luke said. He looked up to the blue sky and sighed. "Well, despite what happened a few days ago… I have to admit that Sarah is happier now than I've ever seen her."

"Yeah, I've noticed that as well." Zach said.

Luke looked to Zach and said, "Listen…. Did you kill Carlos?"

"What are you talking about?" Zach asked. "I hated that bastard for nearly killing my little girl, but killing him seems to go too far. Besides, if I did kill him, I would have ran the risk of getting kicked out of the group."

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I just… I wonder sometimes…. I mean there was a lot of coincidences leading up to his death." Luke said with a frown.

"Don't worry about it." Zach said with a smirk. "I would have suspected myself as well given the circumstances."

Luke chuckled and said, "Yeah, you got a point." He looked back to the road to see the entrance of the bridge was in sight. There, he saw two walkers at the entrance of the bridge. He stood their contemplating his options and said, "Hmm… can't shoot them. Too much noise. But they're only two."

"Let's take them." Zach said.

"I like your style." Luke said. The two men went behind a boulder and crouched down. "I'll take the big one and you can take shorty."

"Fine by me." Zach said as he unsheathed his sword. "I almost forgot how hard it was to look after a toddler." He knew that he needed as much of his energy as possible to keep Madeline entertained and rested when need be.

"I thought you adopted Clementine." Luke said.

"Yeah, but I started looking after her when she was five." Zach said. "Good thing was that she liked to draw more than anything else. Anyway, enough small talk." He got up and approached the walker that was slouched behind a boulder while Luke approached the tall and mobile walker.

In one fluid motion, Zach sliced the top of the walker's cranium off while Luke hacked at the walker that he had to deal with. "Nice work." Luke said as he pulled his machete out of the walker's skull.

"Thanks…" Zach said. He looked back to the bridge and started to walk across with Luke close behind.

Luke and Zach looked ahead to see two walkers heading towards them. The two then heard a walker coming at them from behind. They turned around and Luke muttered, "Shit."

"Well, I've faired against worse." Zach said.

Luke approached the walker that was coming from the rear with his machete raised to hack at the creature. Zach turned around and slashed at one of the walker with his katana, but he heard a loud crash from behind followed by a yell. He turned around to see that Luke and the walker had disappeared. "Luke!" Zach exclaimed. He went over to where Luke was and saw a gaping hole in the bridge.

"Zach, I'm fine… I'm just a bit stuck." Luke said as he tried to keep himself from falling. Zach saw that Luke was barely hanging on with the use of a couple of poles while the walker was impaled by part of the bridge.

Zach looked up when he heard a nearby growl. The other walker was getting closer. "Hang on, I still got a walker to deal with." Zach said.

"Wait, can't you help me first?" Luke asked. However, Zach ignored his pleas and stabbed the walker in the skull. He withdrew his katana and placed the sword back into its sheath. He looked around the bridge and soon found a rebar on the ground. He grabbed the metal pipe and went to the hole.

Zach looked down to see Luke struggled with the walker. He took the rebar, and in one strong thrust, he killed the creature. He pulled out the rebar from the walker's skull and handed it to Luke who used it to get up onto the bridge again. The rebar snapped in half, but Luke was still able to get back onto the bridge. Luke huffed before he turned to Zach and said, "Thanks Zach. That was close."

"Yeah, it was." Zach said as he looked down the hole in the bridge. It was at least a hundred foot drop into the river below. Zach looked back up to Luke and both looked toward the other end of the bridge.

"Let's keep going." Luke said. Zach nodded and led the way across the bridge.

However, both men came to a halt upon seeing a figure approaching them in the distance. It appeared to be a man in his late twenties who was armed with a hunting rifle. "You see him?" Luke asked.

"Yeah… just play it cool." Zach said. "I'll see if I can talk to him."

The unknown man continued to approach the two men, but he stopped all at once. "Well who are you?" The unknown man asked.

"Well who's asking?" Zach asked.

"I am." The man said.

"I'm Zach and this is Luke." Zach said as he gestured to his friend.

"Zach and Luke." The man said with a tang of distrust in his voice. He approached the two men again but he still maintained a good distance between them and him. "You don't look like assholes. Are you assholes? No offense or anything… it's just… you know how it is out here. You run into a lot of assholes."

"I feel you." Zach said. "I've had my fair share of assholes."

"So, are you assholes or not?" The man asked.

"No, we're just people. We got a group waiting on us. We also have a lot of kids with us." Luke said.

"Kids? Wow, I haven't seen many groups with kids for a long time." The man said. He approached Zach and Luke with a calmer demeanor and continued, "We have a couple of kids up at the ski lodge."

"You have a group at the ski lodge?" Luke asked.

"Well, yeah… I mean… I don't think they would mind having you guys spend some time up there." The man said.

"I hope they don't mind. We're all pretty exhausted and we have someone expecting." Luke said.

"I thought you guys were going to be like everyone else." The man said. "There's at least one group per day that passes through here to head north. It's like the great migration of the dazed and the confused."

"Yeah, not a lot of people know where they're going?" Zach said.

The man chuckled and said, "Yeah, you got that right. Anyway, I have to say, you two look like shit. If you're hungry, I got some canned food in that station back there." The man said as he gestured to a small building. It must have been the building that Clementine saw through the binoculars.

"Well, that's uh… awful nice of you. What's the catch?" Luke said.

"No catch. I got plenty." The man replied.

"Well alright then, thank you." Luke replied.

"Hey no problem. It's nice to run into friendly faces out here." The man said. "Like I said I got food and supplies back in the station and your group is more than…" The man trailed off as he squinted his eyes towards the other end of the bridge. His eyes widened and he asked, "What the f***, man?"

Luke and Zach turned around and saw Nick running towards them with his hunting rifle in hand. "What in the world is he doing?" Luke asked. Nick stopped and aimed his rifle towards the unknown man. In turn, the unknown man raised his rifle at Nick. "No, no, no, no! He's wi- He's with us!" Luke said. He turned to Nick and waved his arms in the air. "Nick, no!" Luke exclaimed.

"Put it down!" The man exclaimed.

"Nick stop!" Zach exclaimed, but it was too late. A gunshot sounded and a bullet whirled past the two men. They gripped the ears and stumbled. The ringing in Zach's ear soon died down just in time to see the man that they were talking to fall off the bridge. Zach huffed before he got back up.

"Did I hit him? Where is he?" Nick asked as he approached Zach and Luke.

"I told you not to shoot." Luke said to Nick as he got back up.

"What? Who was that guy?" Nick asked.

"He was going to help us until you shot him, smartass." Zach said.

"How do you know?" Nick inquired with a glare forming on his face.

"Dammit, Nick! I was telling you not to shoot!" Luke said.

"How was I supposed to know?" Nick asked. "You gave me a clear shot."

"That shot rang out for miles!" Luke said. He looked up and waved his hand toward the rest of the group to continue on. "We need to get off this bridge. Let's go." Luke said and he led the way towards the other end of the bridge. Nick followed with a glare aimed at Luke while Zach looked back to his family to see how they were holding up. He turned back around and continued to walk toward the other end of the bridge.

They finally reached the other side of the bridge with Nick and Luke glaring at each other until the rest of the group came. Rebecca huffed as she reached a nearby log. "Who the f***… was that back there?" Rebecca asked while Sarah looked to her with a worried look.

"I don't know." Luke replied.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Sarah asked Rebecca.

"I'm fine, baby. I just need to rest." Rebecca said to her adopted daughter.

"It looked like he had a gun on you." Alvin said to Luke.

"That asshole drew on me!" Nick exclaimed. "He was about to shoot."

"Oh was he?" Luke inquired.

"I'm telling you man, he drew first!" Nick said.

"Because that's not what it looked like to me." Luke said.

"Yeah, I saw you draw on him first." Zach said. "He only raised his gun in defense."

Nick glared at Zach before he turned to back to Luke. "I know what I saw!" Nick exclaimed.

"Either way, you could have hit one of us!" Luke said.

"Nearly did." Zach added.

"Yeah, well, I didn't." Nick said.

"Look Nick, I know Pete was close to you, but you can't-" Luke said but Nick interrupted him.

"Don't f****** talk about him, ever!" Nick exclaimed. The argument ceased at that moment, leaving the atmosphere within the group tense and uncomfortable.

"Do you think he was with Carver?" Clive asked.

"I don't know. I… No, I don't think so." Luke said. "He fell off the bridge so it doesn't matter."

"He fell off the damn bridge?" Alvin asked.

"We have to keep moving." Clive said.

"I can't. I need a minute." Rebecca said. Sarah was next to her with her small hands wrapped around Rebecca's arm in a comforting manner, while Natalie approached the pregnant woman.

"Alright… Luke, Zach we need to talk." Clive said. He headed over to some of the nearby shrubbery with Luke following close behind.

Zach was about to head over as well, but he was stopped when he felt two pairs of hands grab the back of his pants legs. He turned to see Clementine and Keith looking up to him. He turned to the two children and asked, "What's up?"

"Are you okay?" Clementine asked.

"I'm fine. It was just a tense situation back there." Zach said.

The two smiled and Keith said, "That's good… Can we explore the small building?"

Zach looked to the shack and said, "Yeah, just be careful when you're in there." Zach said.

"We will." Clementine said and she and her brother went to the building. Zach watched them enter before he went over to Clive and Luke.

"Alright, we need to face the facts that Nick is too dangerous." Clive said. "Last time, we had someone like him, we all nearly got killed."

"Look, he's just a little stressed over what's happened. We all are. Being chased by some madman hasn't helped any of us." Luke said.

"A little? Luke, he just shot someone!" Clive said. "He is dangerous to have within the group."

"Clive's right. It's only a matter of time till he shoots or even kills one of us." Zach said.

"Zach!" Luke exclaimed.

"It's the truth." Clive said. "We need to be smart about this."

"So what do you want to do? Kick him out of the group?" Luke asked.

"That's one possibility." Clive said.

"Yeah, a really radical one. We don't need to go that far." Zach said. "We take away his rifle."

Luke's eyes widened in horror and he asked, "How is that any better? That's a death sentence for him."

"It's either that or we kick him out. Those are our only two options." Clive said.

Luke shook his head and looked down with a glare forming on his face. "This isn't right." Luke muttered.

"It's what's necessary. We have to think about ourselves for once." Zach said and he turned to Nick. The young man was busy grumbling to himself. Zach approached the young man, but stopped when he heard Clive.

"Holy shit. Zach, we got company." Zach turned to Clive to see him looking out to the bridge. Zach followed Clive's line of vision and saw a herd of walkers heading towards them.

"Shit…" Zach muttered.

"Everyone, get packed up and ready to move, NOW!" Luke said.

Natalie got out of her seat and helped Rebecca to her feet. All the while, Madeline had her arms up for Natalie to carry her. Zach knew that the toddler was ready for her nap and he also knew that she wouldn't be able to keep up with the adults. Zach, Luke, and Clive rejoined the group and Zach went over to Madeline. "Come here, baby." Zach said to the toddler. "Mommy has to help Rebecca."

"Otay." Madeline said with a disheartened look on her face. Zach knew that she wanted Natalie since Natalie carried her more often. However, the girl didn't have a hard time falling asleep when her father carried her. Zach picked up the girl and started to scratch her back. Like Clementine, it would automatically soothe Madeline to sleep.

The group walked to the shack in time to see Alvin, Clementine and Keith exit the building. "We got a problem here." Alvin said.

"Yeah, we saw." Luke said. He looked to the group and said, "Alright, we're moving up." He looked up the mountain and took the lead with the group followed close behind.

* * *

The sky grew gray with the oncoming storm and the lateness of the day as the group climbed the hill to the top. Rebecca huffed as she struggled to climb the mountain to its summit. Meanwhile, Clive and Nick looked across the walkway of the lodge awaiting any form of trouble whether it would be walkers or human beings. Zach also approached the ski lodge but he noticed that Clive was on edge with Nick holding a gun. The older man eyed Nick more than looking down the walkway.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Rebecca asked as she approached the two men.

"We have to be careful." Clive said.

"Careful? We've been on the road for 5 days." Rebecca said. "My back is done being careful."

Clive hummed to himself before he stood upright and started to walk across the walkway. There was no activity on the walkway, so the group had deemed it safe enough to walk onto it.

Alvin walked down the walkway and examined the windows for any weak spots. "It doesn't look like anybody is home." Alvin said. He looked at one of the fortified windows and pulled on it. "No good. Nailed down tight." Alvin then got up and walked towards the entrance. "I'll check around front."

"I'll go with you." Clive said as he followed the plump man.

The other members of the group stayed behind. Zach placed Madeline on the ground and allowed the toddler to walk over to enjoy the view. Keith and Clementine joined her and sat down next to her. Nick was still antsy and looked around with his hunting rifle at the ready while Natalie helped Rebecca to sit down. Sarah sat down next to Rebecca and was exhausted by the day's walk. She looked tired and was huffing quite a bit. Luke looked down the mountain side to see if there were any walkers coming towards the group.

Zach walked over to Luke and asked, "How are we doing?"

"Alright, I think… Damn… that must have been the herd that Carlos got caught up in. Poor guy… I wish we could have at least eased his suffering." Luke said with a saddened look on his face.

"Look at the bright side. At least his daughter is safe and happy." Zach said.

"Yeah, you got a point." Luke said. "I don't think I've ever seen Sarah so care-free. I guess everything did work out for her even if it was touch and go for a little while."

Suddenly both Luke and Zach could hear inaudible yelling that came from the walkway. Luke and Zach looked over to see Alvin, Rebecca, Nick, and Clive arguing with another group. Luke ran over to investigate while Zach followed behind. However, Clementine, Keith, and Madeline kept their distance.

Natalie ran over to Zach and stopped him before he could reach the group. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Zach said. He looked back to the arguing groups and tried to get to the center of the conflict.

"Listen, everyone. Just stay calm." Luke said.

"Who are you? Are you trying to rob us?" An Indian-American woman asked.

"Excuse me, honey, but do I look like a freaking thief?" Rebecca snapped as Zach tried to get closer to the center.

"Everyone just stay calm." A plump man in a red sweatshirt said.

"Hey man, you calm down." Alvin said.

"Just tell us who you are." A woman demanded. Zach perked up upon hearing the voice. He knew who it was, but he hadn't seen her since… Savannah.

"We're not here to rob anyone. Put the gun down man." Alvin said.

"F*** that." An unknown man said. "You have this piece of shit with you." Zach recognized the man's voice, but he thought the owner of the voice was dead.

"I didn't have a choice." Clive said. "Vernon was going to leave my ass for dead if I didn't help him."

"That doesn't change shit!" Kenny spat. Zach was finally able to see the older man. The stresses of the apocalypse must have gotten to Kenny. The older man had light gray hair and a beard. Additionally, he wore a green coat, white sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black shoes. However, he hasn't changed much… He still knew how to hold a grudge.

"Kenny… he's with me." Zach said. The older man looked to Zach and his eyes widened. He wasn't the only person from Zach's past to be with the new group. Carley and Doug were also with him.

Doug appeared to be stronger than what Zach remember, and he had thinned out a bit. He wore a brown unzipped jacket with a black sweatshirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of brown shoes.

Carley looked almost the same since Zach had seen her. She wore a light blue jacket, a red plaid shirt over a gray shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of white shoes.

"Zach…" Doug said with a shocked look on his face.

"It's good to see you guys again." Zach said.

Kenny smiled and lowered his rifle. He went up to Zach and the two exchanged a quick hug. "Good to see you again, pal." The two separated and looked at each other.

"Wait, you know these guys?" Luke asked.

Zach turned to Luke and said, "Yeah, these guys were part of my old group. I haven't seen them for almost two years."

Natalie walked past Zach and walked over to Carley. "Good to see you again." Natalie said as she hugged Carley.

The older woman hugged her back and said, "Good to see you too. I thought when Doug, Dani, and I got separated from you that…" Carley trailed off as the two separated.

"I'm okay." Natalie said.

Zach heard small footsteps from behind and saw all four children approaching the group. A huge grin formed on Clementine's lips and she exclaimed, "Kenny, Doug, Carley!" She ran to the three adults and hugged Kenny first.

"Hey darling. I haven't seen you since you were five." Kenny said as he placed a hand on her back as a form of a hug.

Clementine separated from Kenny and looked to him with a smile before she looked Carley and Doug. "Are you both okay?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah, we're fine, sweetie." Carley said. "Dani's missed you a lot."

"Really? Where is she?" Clementine asked.

"We had her stay inside with Adam and Lizzy." Doug said.

"Adam and Lizzy?" Zach asked. He knew that both names sounded familiar. However, he didn't have to think long until he knew why. Adam was the name of the stranger's son and Lizzy was the name of the stranger's daughter.

"Yeah… you aren't the only one who has gotten married and has adopted some kids." Kenny said. He turned to the Indian-American woman and said, "This is Sarita. She's my wife."

"It is nice to meet you." Sarita said. "A friend of Kenny's is a friend of mine. You're welcomed to come inside."

"Thank you. We appreciate it." Natalie said.

"Are you sure you won't mind?" Alvin asked.

"It's going to storm soon." The plump man said. "Please come in." He then turned around and led the way with Zach, Natalie, and Clementine walking next to Kenny. Doug and Carley followed close behind and Luke and his group trailed behind the couple. Zach looked back to check on Keith and Madeline and he could tell that they felt distant from him. He wasn't sure why though.

The plump man opened the door for Kenny, Zach, Natalie, Doug, Carley, and Clementine to enter.

True to Doug's word, Danielle was inside with two other children with her. She changed since Zach saw her. Her hair was still long and she had only grown a couple of inches. She was about the same height as Clementine. She wore a pink hooded sweatshirt with a white shirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of gray shoes. "Clem!" Danielle exclaimed. She ran down the stairs and immediately hugged her long lost friend. The adults watched on with smirks. They were happy to see the girls reunite.

"Uh… dad, who are they?" A young boy asked Kenny. He must have been Adam. Zach couldn't deny that the boy shared some characteristics with his the stranger but not many. Adam wore a dark blue hooded sweatshirt with an orange shirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black shoes. He appeared to be nine. The girl accompanying him must have been Lizzy which was what the stranger nicknamed his daughter. Her full name was Elizabeth and she appeared to be seven. She was different. She didn't look related to the boy. She had red wavy hair and her eyes were blue compared to her brother who had hazel eyes. She wore a green hooded sweatshirt over a white shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of white shoes.

"Adam, Lizzy… this is a good friend of mine. His name is Zach." Kenny then gestured to Natalie and Clementine and said, "This is his wife Natalie and his daughter Clementine."

"Nice to meet you sir." Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you." Adam said.

"Sir? Am I getting that old?" Zach asked.

"Don't even start with that shit." Kenny said with a joking manner.

Zach felt a tug on his pants leg and looked down to Clementine. "Can I go play with Dani, Lizzy, and Adam?" Clementine asked.

"Of course, you can sweetheart. Just stay inside." Zach said.

"I will!" Clementine exclaimed as she and Danielle ran up the stairs with Elizabeth and Adam following close behind. Zach chuckled while he watched them leave. Of course, he wasn't the only one. Doug, Carley, Kenny, and Natalie also watched the children's excitement until Walter brought the parents back into reality.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Yeah… Doug, Carley, Danielle, and Kenny are back. And as a bonus, we have Adam and Elizabeth in the story… Of course, I should thank FanFic Productions for helping me on this Fic and for giving me an excellent idea on Elizabeth… I'm sure you've all figured it out.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hey guys. There's a poll that needs to be done on my profile page. Voting ends at the end of 2015. If it's a tie, I will cast my own vote and decide.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Madeline Carver. She belongs to FanFic Productions.**

"Kenny, Sarita, Doug, Carley, Adam, Lizzy, and Danielle have been staying with us for several weeks. Used to be a ski lodge obviously, so there is plenty of food." The man in the red sweatshirt said as he walked up the stairs. "And believe it or not, we still get power from that wind turbine out front. Of course, Doug had to help us with it at first. We tend to keep the lights off at night to avoid drawing attention." It was true. The ski lodge was well decorated with Christmas lights around the columns and Christmas tree.

Kenny turned around and began mock the man with a nagging hand gesture as the man continued, "But after we found this stuff in storage, we couldn't resist making an exception." The adults rolled their eyes at the older man's antics. "Is something funny?" The man asked when he noticed that the group members had smirks.

"Oh nothing Walt." Kenny replied. He walked up the stairs to introduce his friend to Zach and Natalie. "Walter here is one smart son of a bitch. He also makes a good can of beans." Kenny finished as he patted Walter on the back.

"Well, why don't you guys catch up while I get dinner started?" Walter suggested. Suddenly, the cabin members entered the ski lodge. Keith and Madeline walked up to Zach and Natalie. Both seemed nervous and unsure.

"What's wrong?" Natalie asked the two children.

"I… uh…" Keith said but he trailed off. He shook his head in a gesture that he didn't want to talk. Zach looked to the two children with concern. He had never seen them act this way.

Walter interrupted his thoughts when he said, "Please, make yourselves at home. You can leave your things over there." He made a gesture to the bench near the door. The group looked over but no one made a move to place their weapons or equipment on the bench.

"The hell we will." Rebecca said.

"Yeah, I'm holding onto my rifle, thanks." Nick said.

"You are our guests here, there's no need to worry." Walter said.

"Then tell them to put their guns down." Nick said as he gestured to Kenny and Carley.

Kenny looked to Zach with a questioning stare and asked, "Are these people trustworthy enough? I know that you're sticking up for that asshole who took our boat, but I don't know why."

"Hey, we're cool. We're cool." Luke said as he raised his hands in the air.

"Kenny, I told you already that I didn't have a choice." Clive said. "If I didn't do what Vernon told me to do, I would have been swallowed up by that herd."

"So, instead you left us to die to that herd." Doug said with a glare aimed at the older man.

"It's not completely his fault. I told Vernon that he needed to start stepping up for himself or he would die." Zach said. His old group members looked to him with shocked looks. "He took my advice. He knew that he and his group were going to die if they didn't do something."

"What the f***?" Kenny spat. "The boat was our ticket to freedom!"

"Not really… Vernon might have done us a favor. That boat was very small. It couldn't fit the whole group anyway." Doug said.

"I knew it wouldn't." Zach said. "Besides, getting on a boat would have been a bad idea. We have no idea how bad the rest of the coast is."

Kenny grumbled to himself before he released a defeated sigh. "Alright… I'll let it go for now but what about the rest of them?""

"You can trust them. I've been on the road with them for a couple days now." Zach said.

Zach stopped upon hearing a gasp. "A Christmas tree!" Sarah exclaimed. Zach turned to see the nine year old run up the stairs to get to the well-decorated tree.

"Wait, Sarah!" Rebecca said but she was too late.

Zach smiled to see the girl's enthusiasm before he turned to Kenny. The older man was also smiling to see how excited the girl was. "Alright. I guess they can't be that bad since you trust them." Kenny said. He walked down the set of stairs along with Carley. Both placed their weapons on the bench and looked back to Luke and his group.

Zach and Natalie were next. They headed down the stairs and placed their backpacks and guns on the bench as well. Soon, Luke followed the procedure and placed his gun and machete on the bench. He turned to his group to see Alvin, Rebecca, and Clive place their weapons and supplies on the bench.

Nick was the last person to do place his weapon on the bench. He released a defeated sighed and obliged in placing his weapon on the bench.

"Good. Will you all please follow me? I'll show you where you can sleep." Sarita said. She headed up the stairs with Luke, Alvin, Rebecca, Clive, and Nick following behind her. Walter went back to the kitchen and tried to get something made for the new additions as Kenny, Carley, Doug, Zach, and Natalie headed for the living room where a nice, warm fire was. Keith and Madeline followed Zach and Natalie. Both children were acting rather strange.

Kenny took a seat on the couch with Zach and Natalie sitting next to him. Doug and Carley sat in a set of chairs that faced Zach and Natalie. However, both adults could see Keith and Madeline. Neither wanted to get too close. Kenny followed their line of vision to the children who started to backpedal.

"Are they yours?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah, we adopted them recently." Natalie said. "Come here you two. You don't have to be nervous. These people are just old friends of ours."

"They aren't going to hurt us?" Keith asked.

"No, sweetie. They don't know who you are." Natalie said.

"Come here. You're both alright." Zach said and he gave the two children an encouraging smile.

The two children were hesitant but they approached the two adults. Zach picked up Keith and placed him on his lap while Natalie did the same with Madeline.

"I never would have thought to see you with a son, Zach." Kenny said.

"Yeah, it's not so hard." Zach said as he wrapped his arms around the boy's waist. "I had some experience before Keith."

Kenny hummed to himself before he looked to the fire. "Been a year and a half since we last seen each other."

"How'd you get out of there?" Zach asked.

"It wasn't easy… It was even harder after I got out of Savannah. I gave up… I didn't want to do it anymore. We put up with all this shit and for what…" Kenny said with a saddened look on his face.

"We found Kenny a couple days after Savannah." Doug said. "It didn't look good."

"Yeah, but then I found Sarita… thank goodness. And after that we found Lizzy and Adam. I have to admit… that really helped especially when they started to call me dad." Kenny said as a smile formed on his lips. "It's unlike any feeling in the world to hear some child you care for call you that."

"I hear you." Zach said with a smirk. He knew that feeling especially since he had three children calling him that name.

"So what happened to you guys?" Carley asked.

"Well, I got Clem back." Zach said.

"I sure hope you made that f****** pay." Kenny spat.

"I did. I made sure that he would never hurt anyone again." Zach said. "After that, we kind of bounced around. We tried to find some place safe until we heard about Wellington."

"Us too." Kenny said. "We're heading there as well."

"I see. So, you're going to wait out the winter in the ski lodge, right?" Zach said.

"Not my preference. I think we should get there immediately, but Doug and Carley insisted on staying." Kenny said with a glare aimed at the couple.

"Oh come on, Kenny." Carley said. "The kids wouldn't make it through that weather."

"It's safer if we try during spring or summer." Doug said. "We could die trying to head up there from the cold. I know you wouldn't want that to happen to your family."

"I'm afraid Doug's right. The weather in Ohio is too unpredictable. Let's just wait it out here. You guys got everything you need. You got food, water, and shelter. That's something we didn't have for five days." Zach said.

Kenny released a grumble and said, "Alright, I know when I'm beat."

"So what about that one guy from Vernon's group?" Carley asked. "Why is he with you?"

"His name is Clive. He told me what happened." Zach explained. "You remember that herd that showed up in Savannah?" The three adults nodded in response and Zach continued, "Vernon saw it too. He didn't give his group any other choice. It was either stay and die or help him steal our boat."

"And you're just going to trust him?" Kenny inquired.

"He saved my life." Natalie said which shocked Kenny, Carley, and Doug. Natalie sighed before she continued, "A herd snuck up on us and… Clive risked his life to save mine."

"Plus, Clive has information I need." Zach said. "There's a man named William Carver chasing us. The other group members don't trust me enough to tell me the whole story, and I can't talk to Keith and Maddie about it. So, Clive is my only option."

"Alright…" Kenny muttered. "I'll trust that shitbird for now, but if he does one thing out of line, I'm killing his ass."

"I guess that's fair." Zach said.

Zach soon heard footsteps approaching him and Natalie. The two adults turned to see Sarita next to them. "Hello. I was wondering if these two would like to help decorate the Christmas tree. The other children are already helping out."

Zach smirked and said, "I think that would be a good idea." He looked down to Keith and said, "Go play with the other kids for a little while." However, the boy was very nervous and unmoving. Zach looked over to see that Madeline was also unmoving.

Natalie smiled to the four year old on her lap and said, "Baby go play. Those other kids aren't going to hurt you."

"But… what about Carver?" Madeline asked.

"You let us worry about that." Zach said. "You two don't need to worry about him."

The two were still hesitant until Sarita offered her hand. Keith hesitantly accepted it, but Madeline remained close to Natalie. "I got her." Natalie said as she got up. She adjusted the four year old and carried her over to the Christmas tree. Sarita followed with Keith looking back to Zach. Zach gave the boy an encouraging smile until the two disappeared from view.

"They seem really attached. Did you adopt them recently?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah. I adopted them almost a week ago." Zach said.

Kenny chuckled and said, "It shows."

The cabin group walked down the stairs and the four at the fire place turned in their direction. "So, is there anything we can do to help?" Luke asked.

"Well, there's still a few supplies outside. We need to bring them in before the storm hits. Zach can help us." Kenny said.

"Yeah, I'm in." Zach said. He got out of his seat along with Kenny and the two headed outside. The cold wind whipped around the two and left both men shivering.

"Damn… It gets colder each time I'm out here." Kenny muttered as he went for a box of supplies. Zach followed him and picked up a box as well while Luke and Nick exited the building. "Hey there." Kenny said. "There ain't much left as you can see."

"Alright." Luke said as he went to grab a box.

It took the four men a couple of trips outside and inside, but they soon finished. "Whew… glad that's done." Kenny muttered as he walked up the stairs.

"It wasn't that bad." Zach teased.

"Yeah, maybe not for you, Mr. Marine." Kenny said. "Some of us aren't made out of the tough shit that you're made out of." He looked off to the distance. Zach followed his line of vision and saw the Christmas tree. "Well, they've been busy."

"Yeah, they have." Zach said. The two men headed over to the children, Natalie, and Sarita. Zach was pleased to see that Madeline and Keith weren't as shy as they were earlier and they were even talking to Adam and Danielle.

Clementine smiled upon seeing her adoptive father approaching her. She ran to him and hugged one of his legs. "Hey sweetheart." Zach said. "You and the other kids are doing a good job on the tree."

The girl smiled looked up to Zach with a smile and said, "Thanks."

Zach looked up to see Elizabeth run to Kenny. The older man picked up the small girl and hugged her. "So did you kids do all that?" Kenny asked in a kind tone of voice. Zach had never heard that tone in his life. Something about the red-haired girl must have brought out his compassion or something he had before the apocalypse.

"Do you like it, daddy?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, y'all did a good job on it." Kenny said as he placed the seven year old back on the ground.

Kenny looked over to Sarita who was gathering the boxes for the Christmas decorations. "I got it hon." Kenny said as he reached for the box.

"I think I can manage it, Kenny." Sarita said.

"Well alright. Let me know if you need help." Kenny said as he walked back. Sarita smiled to the older man before she left with the boxes.

Zach sniffed the air and could tell that dinner was almost ready. Whatever they were going to have, it was going to be good.

"Smells like Walter is almost done with dinner." Doug said. Zach turned to the stocky man and he continued, "How about you go get your people together."

"Sounds good." Zach said. He headed for the stairs but he could hear the pitter patter of a pair of shoes following him. Zach turned around and saw Clementine with a big smile on her lips. He knew that she wanted to spend some time with him. He had spent a lot of his energy on all three of the children over the course of the last few days. It probably hasn't been easy for Clementine to adjust to having two other siblings. After all, she was an only child for eight years. "You want to help me round up the others?" Zach asked with an encouraging smirk and his hand out to take her hand.

Clementine nodded and placed her small hand into his. The two then proceeded upstairs. "How are you holding up?" Zach asked. "I know it can't be easy to be trying to get my and mommy's attention since you now have two siblings."

"It isn't easy." Clementine said with a frown. "I really liked it at first, but now, I feel a little lonely. I'm just not used to it yet."

"Right, you'll get used to it as time passes on." Zach said.

"I… I don't want to become like my friends at school. They would always say that I was lucky for being an only child and that they hated their siblings. I'm not like that, right?" Clementine said.

"Of course you're not, sweetheart." Zach said. He stopped and looked to the girl with caring eyes. "Clementine, you are one of the most loving people I have ever met. I don't think there's a mean bone in your body."

"That's good." Clementine said with a wide smile forming on her lips. "I was a little nervous that I was becoming mean."

"Why would you think that?" Zach asked. The eight year old shrugged and Zach chuckled before he continued up the stairs. "Don't worry. You're doing a good job."

"Thanks." Clementine said.

"You're welcome." Zach said. The two finally reached the top of the stairs to see Alvin, Rebecca, and Clive talking amongst themselves.

"It's crazy. Why would they follow us this far?" Rebecca asked.

"They have a lot of reason to be still chasing us." Clive said as Zach and Clementine approached them.

"It has been a week man. We got to be out of the woods." Alvin said.

"We can't be too sure." Clive said. "They might be tracking us."

"Tracking? Who do you think they are, ninjas?" Alvin inquired as he panicked from the thought of Carver's men hunting them down.

Rebecca looked down with a frown before she looked up to Zach. "Zach do you or Luke know if Carver's still on our tail?" Alvin and Clive looked to Zach with equal curiosity.

"I don't know… We might have lost him. Either way, we won't be heading anywhere any time soon. We need a couple days to recuperate." Zach said.

"Yes. I agree. This is the best break we've had in days. It's warm here and they have water." Rebecca said. "It'll be perfect for the baby."

"Carver may find us if we stay put." Clive said.

"We'll have to take that chance." Zach said. "I don't think we have another day left in us."

"Everyone dinner is served. Come on over and have a seat." Walter said from downstairs.

"We'll discuss it after dinner." Clive said as he headed downstairs.

"Here hon. I'll help you." Alvin said as he helped Rebecca to her feet. The two walked past Zach. The marine followed the couple and headed downstairs with Clementine next to him. Zach joined Natalie, Keith, and Madeline. The three must have wanted to wait for Zach and Clementine.

"Hey, where do you want to sit at?" Natalie asked. Zach looked to the two tables and saw that one table consisted of Luke, Alvin, Rebecca, Clive, Nick, and Sarah while the other table consisted of Kenny, Sarita, Adam, Elizabeth, Carley, Danielle, Doug, and Walter.

"I haven't been around Kenny and them for a long time. How about we go over there." Zach said.

"Sounds good." Natalie said.

The family of five walked over to Kenny's table; however, Zach could see that his old friend, Luke, was distraught by Zach's choice. Zach sat down with Clementine and Keith sitting next to him and Natalie sitting across from the children. Madeline was placed on Natalie's lap.

"Here you go." Walter said as he handed Zach a couple of bowls. Zach passed it down to Clementine and Keith while Walter gave Natalie two bowls of a mysterious concoction. One was for her while the other was for Madeline. "Here Zach." Walter said as he handed a bowl to the marine.

"Thanks." Zach said. Zach looked back over, and just as he expected, Madeline didn't want anything to do with the food. She looked into the bowl with a questioning stare. "You want to try some?" Zach asked.

Madeline looked up to Zach and she looked back down to the bowl. "It look funny." Madeline said.

Doug, Kenny, and Carley chuckled at the toddler's description while everyone else ate. Natalie also chuckled and said, "Can you try it, baby?"

"It may look funny, but it does taste really good." Clementine said to the toddler.

"It does?" Madeline asked.

"Yeah, we eat it all the time here." Adam said. "Walter's a really good chef."

"What's a chef?" Madeline asked.

"A cook, basically." Zach said.

"Hmm… otay." Madeline said with a smile forming on her face. The toddler picked up her spoon and took a bite of the concoction. At first, it looked like she didn't like it, but she got over it rather quickly and took another bite.

"Do you like it?" Zach asked.

The toddler nodded her head with a smile. It was a surprise to Zach and Natalie. They did have her try new things but she usually didn't like a lot of food anyway. Zach figured that she was still a baby and she needed normal things that kids would eat. Clementine wasn't willing to try venison until a few months after she turned six. So, Zach considered it to be normal for Madeline to be somewhat picky.

Zach looked down to his own food and started eating as well. It was a few minutes later until Kenny spoke up, "So Zach, what's the deal with the kid? What's his name? …Luke? It seems like he knows you or something."

"Yeah, I used to go to high school with him. He's a good kid, but he tends to overdo it." Zach said.

"What do you mean?" Doug asked.

"What I mean is that he's too concerned for everyone else's well-being and he spreads himself too wide." Zach said.

"Like you have room to talk. You do the same thing." Natalie said.

"So, what about these guys chasing you?" Carley asked.

"I met Carver already. He seems pretty strong and he's definitely very smart." Zach said. "It didn't take him long to figure out that I was lying about not knowing the group."

"Shit, how did you get away? Doug asked.

"I got lucky. He wasn't expecting to find anyone in the cabin. He must have thought it was another dead lead." Zach said.

"I'll say." Kenny muttered.

"Hey daddy, we're done." Clementine said. Zach looked over to Clementine and Keith and saw that both of their bowls were empty.

"We're done too." Adam said to Kenny.

"Alright, how about you five go play for a while. Just make sure you stay inside." Kenny said.

"She's done too." Natalie said as she gestured to Madeline. Natalie placed Madeline on the ground and looked to Keith and Clementine. "Can you two make sure to keep an eye on your baby sister?"

"Yeah, we'll look after her." Keith said.

"Good. I'll come and check on you guys every so often." Natalie said.

The six children headed upstairs which left the adults in silence. It was weird when the children left. It was as if they had the energy to keep the conversation going. However, it didn't take long for a new conversation to start. Luke and Nick went to the table that Zach had chosen along with his family. Meanwhile, Sarita, Doug, and Natalie went to check on the children. Zach noticed that Sarah was walking close behind the adults. She probably wanted to join her friends as well. Walter also left the table, but it was clear that he was going in the opposite direction. More than likely, he was going to clean up.

Luke sat down in front of Zach and gave him a saddened look; however, Zach was unaffected by the stare. His eight year old daughter gave a better sad look than the young man.

The stare was broken off when Kenny said, "I hope you enjoy the food."

"Oh yeah…" Luke said. He was caught off guard by the question since he wasn't paying attention. "It's great. Thank you."

"It's peaches and beans." Kenny explained. "Great for nutrition. Not too great on the way out though." The older man then busted up laughing at his own joke while Luke and Nick glared at him for the inappropriate joke. Carley and Zach rolled their eyes and smirked at the older man's delight. They knew how Kenny operated, so the joke wasn't a surprise for them.

Kenny's laughter came to an end and the two men went back to just staring at him. "So it's Luke and Nick? Luke and Nick. You two seemed to be quite the match." Kenny said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick inquired.

"I'm just saying you two look like good friends, that's all." Kenny replied.

"So what was your plan here? Hold out for the winter?" Luke asked.

"Well, if I had it my way, we would be on our way to Wellington." Kenny said as he sent a scowl toward Carley.

"We already told you that going to Ohio with the kids would be too risky. I've heard the weather up there can be really awful." Carley said in defense.

"Ohio? Where the f*** is that at?" Nick inquired.

"Right below Michigan and next to Pennsylvania." Zach explained. "I was up there for a little while for training."

"There's supposed to be a big camp near Michigan." Kenny explained. "It's called Wellington."

"Michigan?" Nick inquired.

"You have a hearing problem, kid?" Kenny snapped. "Yeah, Michigan. Think about it: fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters so that the walkers get slow."

"Sounds like a lot of bullshit." Nick said.

Kenny jumped at the man's arrogance and said, "Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your deal is but you are more than welcome to take off in the morning."

"Well that sounds just fine by me." Nick snapped.

"Don't let him bother you Kenny. There's always something wrong with that kid." Zach said.

"Hey, f*** you Zach." Nick spat and he turned to the former marine. "I knew you were going to leave us again."

"Gentlemen, please, there is no need for this." Walter said as he approached the squabbling adults. "We've all had a long day. Now please eat."

Kenny grumbled to himself and said, "I'm going to go check our defenses." He stood up from his seat and headed for the front door.

"I'll join you, Kenny." Walter said as he followed the older man.

Zach huffed and said, "Look, I know Kenny can be difficult to get along with, but you'll have to get used to him." He got out of his seat and headed for the door as well. He wasn't sure how the two groups were going to mesh together. Kenny didn't trust Clive and he wasn't getting along with Luke or Nick.

Zach exited the ski lodge and felt the cold wind across his body. It reminded him of the cold conditions of his training in Alaska, although the current weather was not as grueling or as cold.

Zach noticed Kenny and Walter and headed toward them. They seemed to be wrapping up with a conversation as Zach made his approach. "I'm starting to worry about him, Kenny." Walter said. "He usually calls in by now."

"It's probably just the fact that his radio died." Kenny said. "I'll go down there and look for him before the storm hits."

"What's going on?" Zach asked.

"Oh hey Zach." Kenny said. "Matthew hasn't come back, so we're thinking of sending some folks down to check on him."

"Well, wait a minute." Walter said. "You guys had to have passed the bridge to get here. You had to have ran into him."

Zach's eyes widened. At that point, he knew who Walter and Kenny were talking about. He was almost unsure of telling the two men. However, before he could speak, the three heard a twig snap. Kenny whipped around and aimed with his rifle. There was nothing nearby, but it was better for them to be cautious.

The three men turned the corner and saw a young, red-haired woman peeking through the window of the ski lodge. She wasn't armed, but that didn't mean that she wasn't dangerous. Kenny raised his gun and aimed it at the woman, but Walter stopped Kenny by placing a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Kenny obliged and lowered the hunting rifle. "Miss?" Walter said to get the woman's attention.

She looked over and jumped upon seeing the three men. She raised her hands in surrender as she stared wide eyed at Kenny's hunting rifle. "Please, do you have any food?" The red haired woman asked.

"Are you okay?" Walter asked as he approached the woman.

"I saw the house and… I have a family. We're starving." The woman explained. "We live down there." The woman gestured to the bottom of the mountain.

"Of course." Walter said. "Why don't you come in miss…?"

"Bonnie." The woman replied.

"Walt, I don't know. You're just going to let her in, like that?" Kenny asked with a glare towards the woman. "We have kids in our group."

"It's fine, Kenny." Walter replied.

"We don't know this girl." Kenny said.

"Then we'll just have to get to know her, right Zach?" Walter asked.

"This can't be a coincidence. My group is being chased by some madman and now we have a woman scooping out our defenses." Zach said with a glare aimed at Bonnie.

"Please, I wasn't going hurt anyone in there. I just needed something for my family." Bonnie pleaded.

"Zach, she needs help." Walter said with a frown on his face. "What kind of people would we be to turn her down?"

"Thank you, really, but that storm'll be on us soon and I have got to get back to my family." Bonnie said.

"Alright, I'll bring something out to you then." Walter said.

"You don't have to do that." Bonnie said.

"No, no, it's fine." Walter said as he raised his hand up. "Just give me a couple of minutes, and I'll be right back." Walter headed back towards the front doors of the lodge leaving Bonnie with Kenny and Zach.

"We can't trust this girl." Kenny muttered.

"Keep yourself armed and ready." Zach said.

"So, y'all have family?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, we do." Kenny said. His voice left no room for the woman to say another word. Instead, she stood by and waited for Walter to return. Fortunate for her, the plump man returned a few minutes later.

Zach could tell that she was uncomfortable, but he didn't care. He kept his eyes aimed at her until he noticed Walter coming around the corner. He carried a box of food which he handed it to Bonnie. "Here you go, miss."

Bonnie took the supplies and her eyes widened in surprise. "This is too much." Bonnie said.

"Don't mention it." Walter said.

"I don't know how to thank you." Bonnie said.

"Just help someone else down the line." Walter said.

"Thank you so much." Bonnie said with a smile. "Well, I'll be going now."

"Take care." Walter said.

"You too." Bonnie said and she headed down the hill. Zach kept his eyes on the woman. He knew that something about her wasn't right. She acted too nervous around him. It was as if she knew him or knew what he was like.

Walter turned to Zach and Kenny with a sincere smile but neither of the two approved of his actions. There was no doubt that Zach liked his caring and kind attitude, but the plump man was too naïve with his approach. It was obvious to him and Kenny that Bonnie was there for another reason.

"Zach, why don't you go inside? Walt and I need to talk." Kenny said.

Zach simply obliged and headed for the entrance of the ski lodge.

…**To be continued.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Madeline Carver. She belongs to FanFic Productions.**

Zach entered the ski lodge after the incident with the woman outside. He was kicking himself for not going after her. At the very least he could have followed her and saw her supposed family, but it was better to stay at the ski lodge. He could better defend it if the woman had lied and was really working for Carver. Zach had little doubt in his mind that Bonnie really was working for Carver. Her appearance was too much of a coincidence.

Zach climbed the stairs as he continued to think over the situation that the group was in, until Luke appeared hiding behind a column and whispered, "Hey Zach." Zach looked up and sent Luke a confused look.

The young man looked around before he signaled Zach to come over. "Hey, don't freak out." Luke said as Zach approached him. "Hey listen, I got to tell you something. That guy on the bridge was Walter's friend." Luke then pulled out a photo of the man that was shot by Nick and Walter standing side-by-side. Zach sighed upon seeing the photo. He knew that man had to be Matthew as soon as Walter talked about him being close by to the bridge. "You see, I knew something was off, so I asked Sarita about their friend." Luke continued. "And now they're all worried that he's not back yet."

"Kenny was about to head down to look for him when I went outside." Zach said.

"Does he or Walter know anything?" Luke asked.

"I don't think. I should go find Walter and tell him what happened." Zach said.

"No. Don't." Luke said. "If Walter finds out, who know what he will do. I'll try to find Nick. I just… man we need a plan or something."

"I'm right here." Nick said as he approached the two. "What's up?"

"Oh, uh… nothing man, just wanted to see if you were okay." Luke said as he walked out from behind the column.

"Hey man, I'm fine." Nick said. He turned to Zach who stayed silent. The former marine tried his best to keep a good poker face. "Is there something going on?" Nick asked.

"Nah… just go to bed Nick." Luke said.

"I'm serious." Nick said. "You guys can talk to me."

"It's nothing." Zach said. "Really, forget it."

"Come on, Nick. Let's go find a beer." Luke said. The two friends started to walk away while Zach went to find his family. He wanted to check on them before he went to talk to Walter.

He walked up the stairs and soon he found his three children playing the famous Apples-to-Apples game along with Adam, Elizabeth, Danielle, and Sarah. "Well now. Where did you find this?" Zach asked.

"Lizzy and Adam had it. It's a lot of fun. You want to join in?" Clementine said.

"No, I just came to check on you. I need to go help Kenny with a couple of things." Zach said.

"Okay, be safe." Clementine said. Zach smiled and he walked away from the children playing the game. They all seemed to enjoy each other's company. It was also good to see Clementine interact with people her age. After all, she was with two adults for almost two years.

Zach headed back down the stairs in search of Walter. He knew that the last time he saw Walter that he was outside. He walked to the front door to see the plump man outside. He seemed distant and he had something in his hand. "What the…?" Zach asked. He walked outside and soon felt the storm's immense power. The wind whipped around in an impressive display. Zach looked to Walter and asked, "Hey Walt, you alright?" Zach turned his attention to the wind turbine. He noticed that the device was starting to spin out of control. He turned back to see Walter with a specially made knife in his hands.

"I always liked this knife." Walter said as puffed out a bit of smoke. He must have been smoking a cigarette. Being a past smoker himself, Zach enjoyed the smell. He hasn't had a smoke for years. Walter unsheathed the blade and said, "I gave it to Matthew when all of this started. I found it in your boy's backpack. I know Matthew's dead. Who did it? Was it that kid? What's his name… uh, Nick? Heard him talking earlier about shooting a man." Walter paused and said, "I could see it… I could see it on his face! I wasn't sure then… but now… I know what happened."

"I'm sorry." Zach said. "None of us really knew who it was."

"So you shot at him?" Walter inquired.

"I tried to stop Nick, but there was nothing I could do. He just shot him." Zach said.

Walter dropped his cigarette and stomped on it before he turned to Zach. "Is Nick a good man or is he like everyone else?"

"He's not a good man. You'd do everyone a service by killing him." Zach said without missing a beat.

"Oh trust me. I intend to. I want to see him suffer for what he did to Matthew." Walter said with tears starting to form in his eyes.

"You, above anyone else, have the right to kill him once and for all. Don't hesitate to take his life when the moment comes." Zach said. He turned to the windmill and saw that it was spinning faster and faster. "The time is almost upon us." Zach said.

As Zach figured, most of the group came outside. "Walt, what's going on?" Kenny asked. However, Walter didn't respond and instead he looked down with a frown. "Shit, Zach what's going on?" Kenny asked.

"The storm has the windmill spinning out of control." Zach said as he turned to Kenny.

"Shit, that sounds gonna draw walkers!" Kenny exclaimed. He turned to the group and said, "We gotta shut it down now!"

Clive turned to Nick and said, "Nick help me carry the guns." Nick nodded and the two went inside to retrieve any firearms that were in the ski lodge.

"Guns?" Sarita inquired.

"Are the kids safe?" Zach asked Natalie.

"They're inside with Alvin and Rebecca watching them." Natalie said.

"Good." Zach said. Nick and Clive returned with the weapons and equipment. Zach took his backpack which had his katana attached and Natalie got her backpack and handgun. Doug and Sarita accepted a pair of hunting rifles, Carley took her handgun, and Luke grabbed his machete and revolver.

"That damn thing's a dinner bell!" Kenny bellowed and he ran towards the wind turbine. The group followed him to the turbine as the wind continued to pick up speed.

Just as they reached the control box, there was a loud boom nearby. Everyone looked to where the sound came from and Luke asked, "The hell was that?"

"It must have been the transformer. I need to go check it out." Doug said.

"I'll go with you." Kenny said.

"Me too." Luke said.

"Alright, the rest of us will try to shut this thing down." Zach said. The three men headed toward the forest, while Zach opened the control box to the wind turbine.

"You know what you're doing?" Clive asked.

"Yeah, I was given a class over this shit when I was in training. Who would have thought that it would come in handy?" Zach said. He brought out his lighter and searched for the key. He found it and placed it in the switch. He looked up and noticed that the turbine was starting to slow down.

"Well, at least that's over." Carley said.

Zach shook his head and said, "No… it's only beginning." He pocketed his lighter and turned toward the forest. Although he couldn't see them, Zach heard plenty of walkers heading towards him and the group. Zach drew his katana while rest of the group brought up their guns. The sound of gurgled growling and snarls filled the air and soon everyone could hear the volume and frequency of the growls and snarls increase. It was as if the wind turbine was being surrounded by walkers.

"We don't have much ammunition." Clive said as he raised his gun.

"We got to get back to the lodge." Nick said. Suddenly, the growling intensified from behind the group and they turned to see walkers approaching them from the rear. "They're behind us!" Nick exclaimed.

Carley took aim with her handgun and shot a nearby walker. However, the walkers from behind proved to be persistent and continued towards the small group which consisted of Sarita, Nick, Carley, Clive, Zach, and Natalie.

Zach ran for a couple of the walkers that were approaching the front of the group and dealt a couple of slashes to their skulls. He looked up to see two more walkers heading for him. He stabbed the next walker's skull and kicked the back of the other walker's leg. The walker fell to the ground and Zach finished it off with a pistol whip to its skull. He ran over and withdrew his katana from the third walker's skull and holstered his gun. He looked over to see that the group had left the windmill. He looked around for his wife until he could hear a man yell out.

"Somebody help me!" Nick exclaimed. Zach ran to the source of the yelling to see what was happening. He found Nick and saw him struggling with a walker. Walter was also present to see the young man struggling. Zach went for his revolver, but he stopped. In similar fashion, Walter held up his gun, but he lowered the weapon. "Help!" Nick exclaimed before the walker took a chunk out of his neck. The man's strength finally faded and he fell to the ground. Zach could tell that he was choking, but it didn't last long. The walker took another chunk out of his neck and the creature proceeded to feast on him.

Zach went over to Walter and the two took a moment to watch Nick get eaten. "So what happens now?" Walter asked.

"We don't tell anyone about this." Zach said.

"I'm surprised that are so hostile towards him… I mean he was your friend." Walter said.

"He was a liability and a danger to everyone around him. Some folks may miss him, but I'm not going to take the chance of him shooting me or someone I care for. He's done, and he's outlived his usefulness." Zach said. He walked away from the area with his katana at the ready. Walter followed behind him.

* * *

Zach and Walter could see the group near the front entrance of the ski lodge. Clive, Natalie, Sarita, and Carley were still alive. Zach and Walter shot at a couple nearby walkers as they approached the four. "Hey, where's Nick?" Natalie asked.

"He's gone. Walker's got him." Zach said.

"Shit…" Carley muttered. More and more walkers showed up and Zach took aim with his revolver and fired.

"Natalie, get inside!" Zach said.

"On it." Natalie said and she ran for the house.

Zach continued to fire at the herd, but it seemed like nothing was going to stop it. Every time he killed a walker, more and more seem to come towards them. It definitely didn't help that it was dark out, and he couldn't see the tree line.

Suddenly, there was a sound of rapid shooting. It buzzed all around him and the group. It brought back memories of being in the battlefield. Zach looked around for the source of the shooting and noticed that several walkers were falling left and right. One last shot sounded and the walker in front of him jolted sideways and fell to the ground.

Zach and the group looked over to see the person that Zach encountered a few days ago. It was Carver, and he was joined by three well-armed guards. "Howdy folks." Carver said. Zach growled and kicked himself for being beat at his own game. He was so caught up with weeding out useless people within the group that he didn't keep an eye on the threat that was chasing them. "Where's Rebecca?" Carver asked Zach. Zach noticed that the guards were surrounding his group and had their automatic weapons aimed at the group members to keep them in place.

"Rebecca?" Zach asked. Carver crossed his arms over his chest and gave an unamused look. "Oh right. She was part of that group you were looking for. My family and I left that group a few days ago. There was a minor disagreement between me and them."

Suddenly, Carver punched Zach in the stomach and said, "Don't test me, boy. I'll pass every time. Now, where is Rebecca?"

"How the f*** should I know?" Zach huffed.

Carver glared at Zach before he looked over to the ski lodge. A smile formed on his face and he pointed towards the building. "There." Carver said as Zach regained his composure from the hit. "Take them inside."

Zach followed Carver along with his group. However, he looked back to Walter when he heard him say, "It's you." He looked back to see Walter staring at one of the guards. The guard was Bonnie. Zach's eyes narrowed in hatred and he glared at the woman.

"Keep moving." Bonnie said.

"I knew I couldn't trust you." Zach said to Bonnie.

Bonnie looked up and glared at Zach. "Get moving now." Bonnie said as she held up her gun and aimed it at Zach. Zach stared her down for a couple of seconds before he moved on. The rest of the group followed him with each guard covering the left, right, and back to prevent any escaping.

They entered the ski lodge and Zach could hear one of the guards whistle. "Wow, look at this place. I think they may have had electricity at some point." The guard said.

The other guard gestured the group over to the adjacent wall where the Christmas tree was. Zach was relieved that none of the children were in sight. He may have been captured, but at least, they weren't. Zach sat down next to the Christmas tree with Carley sitting next to him. The guard walked away while Bonnie said to the other guard, "Johnny, keep an eye on that window." The guard near the window nodded in response and took a position near the window.

"Zach, what do we do?" Carley whispered.

"Don't do anything stupid. They clearly have the advantage over us." Zach whispered back. He was suddenly yanked forward and received a blow to the gut. Zach coughed and fell to his knees.

"Zach!" Carley exclaimed.

"Look, I'm only going to ask you once. Where is Rebecca?" Carver asked.

Zach huffed before he looked back up. "I already told you. I have no idea. In case you didn't notice out there, I was busy trying to kill as many walking corpses as possible. I don't have time to worry about a pregnant woman." Zach said.

Carver delivered a punch to Zach's face and the former marine groaned in pain. However, it was when one of his fingers was pulled back and dislocated that he yelled out.

"Rebecca!" Carver exclaimed as he released Zach hand. Zach groaned in pain as Carver continued, "Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety. I know you're out there with Alvin, Luke, Sarah, and my weakling children. If you want this to end nicely, you'll come out and show your faces."

"Zach!" Clive exclaimed. "Leave him alone. It's me you want."

"Hey, you shut your mouth!" One of the guards hissed and he aimed the assault rifle at Clive.

"No, hold on." Carver said. Zach huffed in pain over his dislocated digit, while he watched Carver with a glare. The guard backed away and allowed Carver to talk to Clive. "I thought you looked familiar. So, you survive our little business transaction."

"Yeah, I did. It was thanks to Zach and your son." Clive said.

Carver pondered Clive's words and said, "Very good. I'll let you live for a little while longer. Surviving all that has to be a sign. Something about you is unique… We'll talk more once we're at the community." Carver turned his attention back to Zach and he walked back to him. "So, do you have an answer?" Carver asked.

"Haven't seen them in the last few minutes so no. I have no idea where they're at." Zach said.

"You must love this as much as I do." Carver said before he grabbed his left hand. This time Zach winced and thrashed from two dislocated digits.

"ARRGH!" Zach exclaimed. "F***!" He huffed as he tried to adjust to the new pain. Both his hands had at least one dislocated digit which wouldn't recover to work properly ever again. Thankfully, he had two of the dislocated digits in his left hand, while his sword arm only had the middle finger that was dislocated. He could still wield his katana.

"You can end it. You don't have to put yourself through this pain. Just tell me where Rebecca is." Carver said.

"What… part… of, 'I don't know,' do you not get?" Zach said.

"Bill, I don't think he knows where they're at." Bonnie said as she walked up to Carver and Zach. Zach could tell that she felt remorseful, but he didn't care. Pain coursed through his entire being and he sent a glare at Bonnie. He didn't care if she was trying to help him. He was angry with her, and he would never forgive her.

"Hmm… maybe so, but I want to find out for sure." Carver said. He went behind Zach and was about to proceed with his torture until Rebecca came out from cover.

"Bill stop!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Ah…" Carver said before Zach felt being shoved to the ground. Carver walked ahead as Zach felt someone grab him from the back of his shirt and got him standing. He was tied up with his hands in the back as he watched the children, Natalie, Alvin and Rebecca walk down the stairs.

Natalie ran to Zach and hugged him. "My gosh… I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Natalie asked.

"I'm fine. I'm going to need you to help me with my fingers later on." Zach said with a huff.

"Alright, enough of this mushy shit. Get over there." The guard said with a glare. Zach obliged along with Natalie and Clementine. However, Madeline and Keith were forced to stay where they stood by the hostile guard who held his gun up at them.

"Hello, you two." Carver said with a smirk. "I'm surprised that you even survived." Neither of them said a word and all they did was shake a bit in fear of their biological father. "No matter, I will soon have the heir I need, and you both will be obsolete." Carver looked to the hostile guard and gestured to the group. The guard looked to the scared children and gestured them to join the group. Madeline and Keith obliged and they walked over to join Zach and Natalie. The hostile guard bound their wrists together and forced them to sit down.

"Please, you don't want to do this." Walter pleaded with Bonnie as she looked over the newly captured people. "Just let these people go."

"Just shut up." Bonnie spat. It was evident in her voice and face that her guilt was starting to overwhelm her.

Zach looked down with a frown. He knew that Luke's plan wasn't going to work. He knew that they should have confronted Carver and his men. In that respect, things were going to plan. It didn't take long for him to devise a new plan, but he was interrupted when a gunshot sounded and the sound of shattering glass echoed within the room.

Zach looked over to see the guard known as Johnny was dead. He laid on the ground and was unresponsive.

"Kenny…!" Sarita exclaimed.

Carver and his two guards went into action. They raised their guns up towards the group to prevent them from getting excited. "Don't move!" Bonnie exclaimed. The three then took cover behind a couple of columns and tried to see who the mystery marksmen could be. However, the storm and dark night made it impossible for them to make out anything. "I can't see them!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Watch them." Carver said and he went to Walter. He grabbed the man and placed him in a chokehold.

Zach perked an eyebrow as he watched Carver's movements. Was he going to use Walter as a shield? Carver pushed him to the ground and fired point-blank into Walter's skull. Zach's eyes widened in horror as some of the other group members yelled out in fear.

"NO!" Sarita exclaimed.

"Walter!" Adam and Elizabeth exclaimed in unison. Zach could hear Sarah and Madeline starting to cry. It seemed everything was escalating.

"That was for our man!" Carver shouted to the mystery sniper. "Now I didn't want to do that, but you ain't leaving me much option. So here's what's going to happen. I'm going to march another one of your friends out here and I'm going to put a bullet in the back of their head. Or you can give up now, your choice."

Another shot was fired which hit the column that Carver was hiding behind. Carver merely shrugged and went up to Alvin. "Hi, Alvin." Carver said as he dragged the man to his feet.

"You motherf*****." Alvin spat.

"Alvin!" Rebecca exclaimed as she tried to stop Carver, but she was stopped by the hostile guard. "Bill no! Tell him to stop!" Rebecca shouted. "Kenny stop!"

Carver ignored her and kept his gun to Alvin's head. "You remember George, Alvin? You see, I do. I remember a guy who was your friend named George. I remember when you murdered him in cold blood. And why? Because you didn't like me?" Carver then stopped walking and continued as he kept his revolver at Alvin's head. "You could have lodged a complaint. You could have… well you could have been civil about it."

"Bill no! We'll do whatever you want!" Rebecca pleaded.

Alvin turned to Rebecca and said, "I love you, Bec."

"BILL PLEASE!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Don't hurt my daddy!" Sarah cried.

"Kenny, Luke, Doug, don't shoot!" Clementine exclaimed.

Carver looked back and grumbled to himself before he threw Alvin to the ground. He approached Clementine with his gun at the ready, but Zach wasn't going to let the madman anywhere near her. "Back off." Zach said to Carver and he got up to get in between Carver and Clementine.

"I do believe that you're in no position to make demands." Carver said as he aimed his gun at Zach. Zach felt a sudden pain to the side of his head and he fell to the ground. He growled in pain before he looked up to see Bonnie adjusting the grip on her gun. "Thank you, Bonnie. You made that a lot easier.

"Zach…" Natalie said.

"Yeah… sure thing, Bill." Bonnie said with a frown.

Carver grabbed Clementine from her seated position and pushed her forward. Zach fought off unconsciousness and tried to get up, but it was no use. The next thing he saw was Carver picking Clementine up and holding her at gunpoint. His vision faded, and he fell asleep.

* * *

Zach groaned as he awoke from a kick to his stomach. It was the hostile guard from earlier. "Get up. We're moving." The guard said.

Zach grumbled to himself as he got up. He stumbled and limped after the group ahead of him. It was difficult to not lose his balance. He wasn't sure what happened after he blacked out, but he could see Clementine's figure. She was alright. He continued to follow the group from the ski lodge and into the forest. From there, they walked a little more to find a truck. His group went inside as he brought up the rear.

Zach knew he was losing consciousness again. He could see everyone's worried looks and their lips moving, but everything was blurred. Zach eyes closed shut and he could feel himself falling for a brief second.

**Hours Later**

Zach grumbled as he opened his eyes. He looked around to see that almost everyone was in the back of a truck. Kenny and Doug were present and most importantly Clementine was unharmed.

"He's awake." Carley said.

"You okay, Zach?" Doug asked.

Zach looked to see the group members staring at him and he asked, "What happened?"

"You were knocked out for a minutes and then you blacked out on the way to the truck." Natalie said. "I got your fingers relocated and I stopped the bleeding from your head wound."

"Thanks." Zach said to Natalie before he turned to his daughter. "Clementine, are you alright? Did that madman hurt you?"

Clementine shook her head and said, "He didn't hurt me. I'm okay."

"Good." Zach huffed. "I'm going to kill that bitch, Bonnie. I swear I will."

"Zach, please, not now." Natalie said.

"Yes now. She's going to pay for betraying me, for bashing my skull in, and for putting my daughter in danger." Zach said with an angry glare.

"That's what I like to hear." Kenny said. "Come on, we need to get these bindings off."

"And what good will that do?" Rebecca inquired.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?" Kenny inquired. "We got to get out of here."

"Ken, we got to think this through. This truck is a deathtrap. We'll play along for now, and look for an opening at Howe's." Zach said.

"Zach's right. If we try to act now, we're going to get riddled with bullets." Clive said.

"Stay out of this, asshole." Kenny said.

"No because whether you like it or not, we're on the same side now." Clive said.

"Stop fighting!" Elizabeth exclaimed. All eyes turned to her which made her shy away from their glances. "…Please…" Elizabeth squeaked.

"Look, bottom line, we don't have many options in here. We can examine their defenses when we get to their community." Doug said.

"That would be for the best." Carley said.

"Kenny, please, listen to them. We have to think about Adam and Lizzy. We have to keep them safe." Sarita said.

Kenny grumbled to himself and he said, "Yes dear."

"Carver's gotten worse since I've last seen him." Rebecca said.

"Is he going to kill us?" Danielle asked.

"I really hope not." Carley said.

"I don't think he will. He's going to use as labor." Keith said.

"He's a f****** psychopath!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Which is all the more reason that we need to be calm and not do anything that stupid." Clive said. Suddenly, the vehicle jerked and the forward motion was replaced with the feeling that the vehicle was backing up along with a loud back-up siren.

"I guess we're here." Alvin said.

"Alright. Everyone try to stay calm and listen to the guards… for now. We'll figure out a plan of escape from inside." Zach said. The group members didn't reply, but they all looked to Zach as if he was in charge, and in a sense, he was. He had more experience in fighting against armed enemies thanks to his time in Afghanistan.

Zach looked back to the shutter door in time for the truck to shake from hitting something outside. "Everyone okay?" Zach asked as he turned back to the group. Some of the children were trying to get up after the truck's collision, but they seemed okay.

"I okay." Madeline said as she got up. Zach smiled to the young girl before he could hear the hostile guard from earlier rant outside of the truck.

"Damn brakes ain't working for shit!" The guard spat from the other side of the door. The door was lifted up, and in front of the door stood the hostile guard, Bonnie, and an African-American woman with each holding an assault rifle.

"Alright, up and at em!" The African-American woman said. The group slowly got up from their seats and were led from the truck. Zach looked to his children out of the corner of his eye, while the group walked from the docking area to what appeared to be a store. Zach looked around to see several guards all over the place. They were all armed with assault rifles and they had glares aimed at the approaching group.

"What is this?" Natalie asked.

"They're trying to intimidate us. They knew we were coming." Zach said. "This is all just a show."

"We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight." Carver said over the PA. Zach looked around for the main office which would house the PA, but it was nowhere in sight. "Now, I understand some of you are confused as to why we'd bring some of these people back when they left us as they did."

"I think I got an idea." The African-American woman commented from the front of the group.

"It might not come all at once." Carver continued over the PA. "But time will heal these wounds, so be patient with them until it does… And take solace in knowing that they're here to help us make this home a better place. All these feelings you have of anger…betrayal….hate… they're all valid. No one needs to forget what they did… but we have to find it in our hearts to forgive them."

The group continued through the store, but Zach slowed his pace when he noticed the shelves of food. "They got quite a bit of food." Zach said. "Man, I wish we had that kind of food when it was just us out there."

"Come on, we need you for something." The hostile guard said to Natalie.

"Maybe it can wait until morning." Natalie said. "We're all tired from drive here."

"Just come the f*** on." The guard muttered.

"What's she got to do?" Zach asked.

"None of your business, asshole." The guard said.

"Hey! She's my wife, so I have every right to know what she's doing!" Zach said to the guard.

"You don't have any right, motherf*****!" The guard snapped. "And if you talk to me like that again, I will bust your skull open."

"All we need her to do is get situated with our medical center." A middle-age woman said as she approached the group. She turned to Troy and said, "Seriously Troy, you need to calm down, or I'm going to let Carver know how you're acting."

The guard, Troy, muttered and spat out curses while the woman gestured Natalie to follow. Natalie turned to Zach and said, "Keep the kids safe while I'm gone."

"I will. You be careful while you're with them." Zach said.

Natalie nodded in response and she walked over to the middle-age woman. The woman led Natalie away while Zach turned and followed the group again along with his three children. However, as Zach approached the group, he noticed that the African-American woman from earlier had disappeared.

"Make sure y'all are off the fence." Bonnie said to warn the group. "Bill can see if you're messin with it." She opened the door and gestured the group to head inside.

Seeing that there was no other option, Zach headed inside along with Kenny and Carley. Their families followed along with the rest of the group. Zach looked around the courtyard and he was surprised by what he saw. Although the living quarters in the yard were crude, the defenses were very strong. He didn't see many options within the area; it must have been the prison for Howe's.

Troy and Bonnie took off the group's bindings with each person rubbing their wrists once the bindings were gone. "Y'all better get some rest, cause there ain't going to be much for ya tomorrow. You're going to be working hard." Troy said.

"That's for you." Bonnie said as she gestured to the cot that was adjacent to the garage door.

"Yeah, it would be." Rebecca said with a glare. "F****** Bill. Leaves me out in the cold, but at least I will be comfortable"

"Hey guys." An unknown voice chimed.

Rebecca looked to the man and exclaimed, "Reggie!" She gasped upon seeing him and went up to the man. "I'm so sorry!" Rebecca exclaimed as she hugged him. "I'm so sorry." They separated from the hug and Rebecca saw that he had lost his left arm. "What happened to you?"

"This could have been worse. Trust me." Reggie said. "I'm lucky to be alive."

"Reggie?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, he was with us when we tried to escape the first time, but he fell and we had to leave him behind." Sarah explained.

"Yeah, he got hurt at some point." Madeline said.

"This wasn't caused by Carver or anyone in his group?" Zach asked.

Madeline frowned and shrugged in response. "Actually, I think a walker bit him and then someone cut his arm off to save his life." Keith said.

Zach looked back over to Reggie as he finished his story. "…A walker must have snuck up on me while I was hammering in something. It's a good thing they took the arm off quickly. Saved my life."

"That's awful." Rebecca said. "I'm so sorry."

"Enough with the apologies already. It was my decision to help you guys." Reggie said.

"Hey, Reggie." Troy said as he approached the man.

"Oh… hey Troy." Reggie said. He was somewhat reluctant and scared to talk to the guard.

"Don't go f****** up now!" Troy spat. "Bill's real close to letting you out of here. You make sure everything stays nice and quiet out here tonight, and I'll be sure to let Bill know just how helpful you were."

"Yeah, you can count on me. Thanks Troy." Reggie replied.

"Don't mention it." Troy said and he and Bonnie went for the garage door. Zach sent a glare towards both before he brought his arm back and punched Bonnie as hard as he could. "What the f***?" Troy spat as Bonnie fell to the ground.

Bonnie cried out in pain as she laid on the ground. She was in immense pain from the hit. Additionally, Zach could see blood coming out of her mouth along with a couple of teeth. Zach glared at the woman and ignored Troy who had his gun aimed at him.

…**To be continued.**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Sorry for not updating. I decided to get SoT Rewritten done in one shot. It is written but not edited. Also, I had a huge writer's/mental block. I didn't want to write. But now, I'm back… kind of. I'm back in classes so updating may slow down.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Madeline or Sophia Carver. They belong to FanFic Productions.**

Everyone froze in place. Zach looked down to Bonnie as Troy kept his gun aimed at Zach. "What the f*** is your problem? You know what? F*** it! I'll kill you now." Troy said. Zach whipped around and grabbed the gun out of Troy's grasp. Troy sent a punch toward Zach, but the former marine ducked underneath the attack and delivered an uppercut to the guard. Troy was sent flying for a couple feet, and he landed on his back. "Ow! You f***!" Troy exclaimed.

Zach turned to Bonnie to see that she was finally standing. Blood poured from her mouth and her eyes were irritated from crying. "Consider that a small act of retribution for the death of my friend and getting me banged up." Zach said. He turned to Troy who was still on the ground. Zach placed his foot on the guard's neck and said, "You better learn to respect people who are stronger than you. I'll make this clear. You hurt or disrespect my wife, my children, or my group, and I will kill you." Zach placed pressure on Troy's neck and started to choke the guard. He tried to fight back but it was to no avail. "Am I understood?" Zach inquired.

"Yes…" Troy choked out.

Zach took his foot off of Troy's neck and he stepped back to see Troy cough and spat from being choked. The hostile guard got up and ran inside while Bonnie kept touching her face and maintained a slower pace. Zach turned back to the group members staring at him in shock.

"W-Why would you even do that?" Reggie asked.

Zach huffed and said, "I had to do that to ensure my family's safety and to get retribution."

"You could have talked to them. Bonnie is a very kind and understanding person." Reggie said.

"Kind? Understanding? Would a kind and understanding person bash someone's head in when he was trying to defend his child from an approaching madman?" Zach inquired.

"Bill is not a madman." Reggie said with a glare forming in his features. "Maybe you are the madman. You just punched a woman and nearly choked a man."

"Alright that's enough!" Kenny snapped. He walked up to Reggie with Sarita trying to slow his pace but Kenny slipped out of her grasp. "You act like that Carver asshole and his cronies are in the right."

"They ARE in the right." Reggie said. "I've done stupid things… I made mistakes, but Bill is giving me a chance to make up for it. We're all here for the same reason. We've all made mistakes, but we get a second chance."

"That doesn't make up for what he's done, Reggie. After everything that he's done, I want him dead." Rebecca said.

"What are you talking about?" Reggie asked.

"He hunted us down like dogs!" Clive exclaimed. "If Carver was a good man like you say he is, then he shouldn't have done that!"

"None of us are perfect in this world." Reggie said. "Bill was trying to ensure your safety and thought that bringing you all back here was the safest thing to do."

"Can you keep it down over there?" An angry exclamation sounded. Zach looked over to see an African-American man glaring at the group. "Some of us have to get up early." The man said.

"Yeah, sorry about that Mike." Keith said to the man, but in response, Mike covered his ears with his pillow.

"Wait, Keith you know him?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, his name is Mike." Keith said. "He was the one who saved Reggie's life."

"What about her?" Clementine asked. Zach turned to the girl and followed her line of vision to a young woman. She was glaring at the group.

"I… I don't know. She must be new here." Keith said.

Zach's eyes met with the woman. She was analyzing him more than anyone else from within the group. After several seconds, the woman looked away and got up from the bench. "Hmm… something doesn't seem right about her." Zach said.

"Why do you say that?" Clementine asked.

Zach shook his head and he said, "You'll learn when you're older."

"We can at least talk about this in the morning." Reggie said. "As for now, I'll let you guys relax since you've had a long day." He turned to Rebecca and Alvin and said, "I'd like to talk to you two for a couple of minutes, alone."

"Uh yeah, sure." Alvin said.

"You two go ahead. I need to sit down for a few minutes." Rebecca said.

"You okay, baby?" Alvin asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little winded." Rebecca said. She walked over to the campfire with Sarah, Sarita, Adam, and Elizabeth following her.

"What should we do?" Clementine asked Zach.

Zach hummed for a couple of seconds before he said, "How about you guys go and explore for a bit. It'll give you a chance to stretch your legs. Just don't mess with the fence or the people in here."

"Okay." Clementine said with a smile. She, Keith, Madeline and Danielle walked over to the fence. Zach noticed that Keith was holding Madeline's hand to make sure she didn't dart off. He turned to see Kenny, Clive, Carley, and Doug. The former two looked to Reggie with a set of glares.

Man, f*** that guy. I don't think we can trust him. Clearly, he has drank too much of the Kool-Aid." Kenny said.

"I know we can't trust him. He defended Carver like he was a saint." Zach said.

"Oh come on guys. He's just scared." Doug said. "I mean you can't really blame him for acting the way he does."

"Everybody's scared." Kenny snarled. "Ain't no excuse to act like a complete nutcase."

"Either way, we can't stay here. It's too dangerous." Carley said.

"She's right. I have a feeling that this little arrangement won't last long. I'm sure that lunatic will start killing some of us off soon." Clive said

Kenny looked to Zach and he asked, "Can you find us a way out of here?"

"I'll try, but this area looks pretty secure. I don't think we'll find a way out from here." Zach said. "However, that doesn't mean that this place is impenetrable. We'll find a way out elsewhere. Still, I'll look around to see what we got." The four adults nodded and walked over to the campfire, while Zach walked over to examine the wall.

Zach looked to the wall and was surprised to see how sturdy it looked. There wasn't going to be any chance for the group to escape by trying to break it down. Zach turned his head to a shelf that was next to the wall, but it was banged up and old. It wouldn't be able to support much weight.

Zach sighed and he said, "These guys did their homework." He leaned against the wall in defeat and looked up to possibly find any weaknesses on the building. His eyes widened and he stood up straight from the wall. Zach walked passed the group that was at the campfire and he approached the building. He looked up to see the hook and wire of a winch. Zach pondered on how the object could be used before he turned back and he returned to the group.

"Hey did you find something?" Kenny asked. He had Elizabeth on his lap.

Zach walked over to sit down before he turned to Kenny. "As a matter of fact, I did. There's a winch on the building that we can use to escape." Zach said.

"Hmm… alright. At least we have one way to escape." Kenny said.

"There's probably more." Carley said. "We'll probably be inside tomorrow."

"Good point." Doug said.

Suddenly, the garage door opened to reveal Natalie and Troy walking into the yard. Troy had his gun aimed at Natalie.

"Mom!" Clementine exclaimed. She ran over and hugged Natalie with Keith and Madeline following behind. Natalie bent down and hugged the three children.

"Alright, the rest of you go the f*** to sleep. I'm shootin the first of y'all that I see wonderin around before sun-up." Troy barked. He turned and stormed back inside.

Zach approached Natalie and he asked, "You alright?"

"Yeah, Vera was just showing me where I'll be working for a while." Natalie said. She got back up with Madeline in her arms, and she headed toward the plywood beds. Zach had Clementine and Keith follow her while he followed them.

The family of five laid down with Madeline laying down on Natalie's body, and Clementine and Keith laying down next to Zach. Zach could tell that Madeline was already asleep when Natalie laid down. He didn't know how tired the toddler was.

Natalie turned to Zach and asked, "Is she asleep?"

"Yeah, she must have been exhausted." Zach said.

"Must have been." Natalie said as she placed an arm around the sleeping toddler's back to keep her in place. Zach looked up to the plywood bed above him before he also drifted off to sleep.

**Morning**

Zach woke up when he heard the shutter door open. He couldn't really get up since Clementine and Keith were still resting in his arms. Zach shook the two to try to wake them up. "Clementine, Keith, time to wake up." Zach said. The two children mumbled before they opened their eyes.

"What's going on?" Clementine asked.

"I think we're going to work now." Zach said. He got up despite the fact that both children were in his arms.

He noticed that Troy walking over to him with an assault rifle in hand. He grumbled and sent a glare toward Zach before he turned to Natalie and kicked the woman. "Don't kick my wife." Zach hissed.

"Shut the f*** up." Troy muttered before he kicked Natalie again. The woman's eyes opened and she sent a glare toward Troy. "Get up. Bill wants a word with y'all."

Natalie and Zach got up from the plywood beds and they headed for the garage door. Natalie carried Madeline for a little while longer since the toddler had just woken up. As time passed, more and more of the group joined Zach and his family.

"That Troy asshole could learn a thing or two about manners." Kenny muttered.

"Forget it. Teaching that little shit about manners is like shooting a dead horse." Zach said.

The two men turned their attention to the garage door upon noticing that a couple of guards exiting the building. Carver followed close behind them and he looked to the group. "There's been increased activity along the fence so be mindful when outside the walls." Troy walked up and he joined the group of guards. "The herd's moved closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit. Know that we're monitoring the situation. Now… there might be some folks who are sore about what happened… at how things went. That's all in the past now. Some of you are new to our community, some of you are members that went astray. But know that you can find redemption here… forgiveness… by proving your worth through what will undoubtedly be hard work."

Zach rolled his eyes. He couldn't stand these stupid lectures that old men gave him. At least when he was in the marines, the older people who lectured him gave him invaluable information. "Reggie, you're nearly back in. Keep following the path, and we'll welcome you back with open arms." Carver said to the one-armed man.

Zach heard giggling and he turned his head. He noticed that Elizabeth and Danielle were whispering to each other. Zach smirked upon seeing that the girls were having fun in their own way. However, he knew that Carver didn't like it. He turned his head to see Carver with an angered look. "I'll let Reggie be an example to you all-" Carver said, but he was interrupted by the girls giggling again. "Alright, that's enough!" Carver exclaimed. His voice boomed across the yard and he glared at the two girls. Danielle and Elizabeth were surprised by Carver's booming voice and they appeared to be afraid as well.

"I believe you two need some discipline." Carver said.

"Whoa, hold on. They're just a couple of kids." Doug said. He turned to the girls and said, "Girls, apologize to Mr. Carver.

"Sorry, Mr. Carver." Danielle said.

"Yeah, sorry sir." Elizabeth said.

"No, no, that ain't going to cut it." Carver said. "Are they yours?"

"Umm… one of them is." Doug said.

"Then I want you give the one that is yours a good hard smack. It'll make her think twice before opening that mouth of hers again." Carver said. "And I don't mean some namby-pamby thing. Give her a good hard smack."

Doug's eyes widened in horror and he shook his head. "No, I'm not going to hurt my child!" Doug exclaimed.

"Then we'll have Troy do it." Carver said. He turned to Troy and gestured him to move forward, but Doug stood his ground.

"I'm not going to let you people hurt her either." Doug said.

"Outta my way, fatso." Troy snapped.

Doug shook his head and remained where he was. Troy gritted his teeth before he delivered a hit with the butt of his assault rifle. Doug fell over with grunt and a new scar by being hit with the gun.

"Daddy!" Danielle exclaimed and she ran to Doug's side.

Troy was about to hit her with the butt of his rifle as well before he received a punch from Zach. He slid across the pavement for a couple of feet before his body came to a stop. Zach glared at Troy who was cursing and swearing from the punch. "I told you to not disrespect my group." Zach said to Troy. He turned his glare toward Carver upon hearing clapping.

"I wonder when you would come out." Carver said with a smirk as he finished his clapping.

"Give us our assignments and quit wasting our time with your stupid lecture." Zach snapped.

"You know that's rather disrespectful." Carver said with a glare forming on his features.

"And somehow, abducting us from our home is not disrespectful or rude?" Zach inquired.

"Touché." Carver said with a smirk forming on his face. "You certainly do have a point. Tell you what. Let's sweep this all under the rug. All this malice and resentment that we have against each other is gone. It's time that we turn over a new leaf." He looked to Troy and said, "Troy, get Natalie to her station. The rest of you will be working with Jane, Reggie, or Mike." He turned and headed back inside with his guards following him.

The group members looked to each other with questioning stares as the hostile guard could be heard muttering and cursing. Many of the group members were new to the life at Howe's and weren't sure what Carver expected.

Troy got up and gestured Natalie to head inside. The woman turned to her family and went to hug Zach first. "Stay safe." Zach said.

"I will." Natalie said. The two separated from the hug and Natalie looked to her children. "Alright, I want you three to be careful today." Natalie said. She hugged them as well much to Troy's complaints.

"So what about the kids?" Sarita asked.

"Well, since most of them are old enough, they'll be put to work." Rebecca said.

"What about Madeline? She's too young to be working." Zach said.

"There's a nursery in Howe's. That's where Erin would take her." Rebecca explained.

"Alright, you know where it is?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, I'll watch her. There shouldn't be any trouble since I can't really do much anyway." Rebecca said.

"Good. Thanks." Zach said. Rebecca nodded before she took Madeline's hand. Madeline turned to Zach, but he calmed her fears by giving her a nod. She smiled to Zach before she continued to walk into Howe's with Rebecca. Zach turned his head when the African-American woman from last began to speak.

"Adam, Elizabeth, and Sarah you three are working in the greenhouse with Reggie." The woman said. "Clementine, Keith, and Danielle are working with Bonnie in the armory."

Zach cringed upon hearing that two of his children were working with the same woman from last night. There wasn't much he could do. He figured that the African-American woman would have a no nonsense approach and would deny any request he made. So, Zach had to hope that Bonnie would be too intimidated to hurt the children.

Zach's thoughts were interrupted when the woman spoke again. "Alright, Reggie, take those three up to the greenhouse and wait for further instructions."

"Yeah. Okay." Reggie said.

The woman turned to Clementine, Keith, and Danielle and said, "You three will follow me. As soon as we get to the armory, you listen to Bonnie, got it?"

A few of the children nodded their heads while some were too frightened to do so. The woman turned and led three of the children, while Reggie led the other three. Zach noticed that he wasn't the only one watching the children's movements. He was joined by Kenny and Doug.

"Hey, you must be Doug." A guard said as he approached Doug.

"I am." Doug said. "Who are you?"

"The name's Tyler." The guard said. "We got a special assignment for you. It was said that you were able to get the windmill working at the ski lodge you were at. Bill wants you to run maintenance on our solar panels and try to improve on them."

"Okay." Doug said.

"Be careful, Doug." Kenny said with a scowl in his features. "I wouldn't trust this place all that much."

Tyler sent a glare toward Kenny while Doug nodded. "Yeah, I'll keep an eye out." Doug said. He and the guard went inside next along with Jane, Sarita, and Carley.

"Alright, I guess the rest of us are on labor." Mike said.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Clive asked.

"It's pretty simple. Fortify the expansion, send soil up with the winch, and do whatever else Bill plans to give us." Mike explained.

"Great… can't f****** wait." Kenny muttered.

"Anyway, we need to go to the expansion, and we'll probably be doing that all day." Mike said. "Follow me." He walked into the building and he continued, "By the way, for those of you who think that you can jump the gate and get out of here, there are guards on top of the building, so I would not recommend it." They continued to walk in silence for several minutes. Zach looked around and noticed that most of the guard were still watching the group. They were still on edge about the new group being at the community along with some of the survivors that left. Zach turned to see Mike leading them to an emergency exit.

They walked outside of the building and were met with a surprise. The outer doors to the hardware store and a couple of the buildings accompanying it were protected by a gate. It was simple, but effective. The gate was supported by a metal frame and was high enough to prevent the walkers and prisoners from getting over it.

He turned to see the others head toward one of the accompanying buildings. Zach followed them as Kenny muttered to himself. It seemed like an incoherent string of swearing and cursing. Zach understood his friend's frustration. So far, he couldn't find a single weak spot in Carver's defenses. Everything worked and was maintained.

The group entered the last building and Mike went over to grab one of the boards. "Alright, it's real simple. Just hammer in a board where you think there would be a weak spot, like a window or the wall if it's corroded." He grabbed a hammer and some nails and went to work.

Zach, Kenny, Alvin, and Clive started to hammer in boards as well. Zach hated the idea of improving on Carver's defenses, but at least he knew where to go to escape. Plus, the comic bookstore next door also peeked his interest. There was one way in, but the building didn't seem very fortified. Either way, it would be a long day. He would have to think of a plan for escaping.

**A Couple Hours Later**

"Alright, that's it!" Kenny snapped. "I'm done with this shit!" Zach looked over to see the older man chuck his hammer to the ground and approach Mike. "This is bullshit! We are nobody's laborers!" He pinned Mike to the wall and Mike tried to fight out of his grip. Zach was over by the back door to grab more nails. He was about to break up the two, but he could hear a faint whimper from behind the door. He turned his head to the door and opened it up.

Inside, he could see a young girl with black, straight hair. It reached down to her mid-back. She looked awful. Her clothing was in tatters, she appeared to be malnourished, and she had glass shards in her feet. Although the girl was in bad shape, he was sure that he knew who she was. She had very similar features to Keith and Madeline. Plus, there were some similarities between her and Carver. She was Sophia. "What the-?" Zach asked; however, he was interrupted.

"Guys stop!" Adam exclaimed. Zach turned his head and closed the door to see Kenny's two adopted children and Sarah standing next to Kenny, Mike, Alvin, and Clive.

Zach rushed over in time to hear Elizabeth say, "Reggie's dead. Carver killed him."

"What?" Kenny asked with shock and horror in his eyes.

"Are you sure?" Mike asked as Kenny loosened his grip on the lean man. Zach's eyes widened when he saw the window behind Mike. There were at least two walkers that were trying to get inside. Plus, the window was already cracking.

The window behind Mike shattered and the bottom board fell loose under the walkers' weight. The walkers growled as they entered the expansion. They knew that food was inside. The grotesque creatures got up and approached the men and children. "Shit!" Mike exclaimed as he ran off to grab a weapon.

"Grab something!" Kenny exclaimed as he looked for a weapon as well. He found it in the form of a hammer and stepped back as the walkers continued to flow in.

Zach stood his ground and got between the children and the pursuing undead. A walker snapped its teeth at him, but Zach avoided the creature's teeth and smashed the hammer into its skull. The walker fell to the ground with a crushed skull and was obviously dead.

Zach turned back to the other two walkers and slammed his hammer into another walker's skull. Like the first walker, the second walker was dead, but Zach's hammer was lodged in its skull. He turned back to the last walker approaching him and abandoned his hammer. He punched the walker to stun it so he could find something to kill it. He looked around until he found a sledgehammer next to the children he was trying to protect. Zach ran over and grabbed the sledgehammer. He turned to the last walker and used the sledgehammer against it. The creature's skull busted in a million pieces and its body fell to the ground.

Zach huffed before he chucked the sledgehammer away. "Holy shit. Lizzy, Adam, you alright?" Kenny asked and he ran to the two children. He hugged them both while Sarah ran to Alvin.

"We're okay." Adam said.

Kenny smiled and said, "Good… that could have… well… you're alright and that's all that matters."

"You okay honey?" Alvin asked Sarah. The small girl nodded. For once everything was calm, but it wouldn't stay that way.

The door busted open to reveal Troy who appeared to be angry. "You're a little late. All the walkers are dead now. Oh well, we didn't really need you, you piece of shit." Zach said with a smug smile on his lips.

"Quiet, now!" Troy hissed. He sent a glare to the children and said, "Alright, go back to the yard, now." Troy hissed. The three children ran out the door to avoid the guard from yelling at them anymore. Troy turned to the rest of the group and said, "You f****** can't do a damn thing right without me cracking the whip!" He turned to Zach next and said, "I don't know why, but Bill wants to talk to you. Hopefully, he'll kill your ass."

Zach smirked and said, "Yes, yes, I get it already. You're a little sore that I beat your ass… Heck, I sent you flying."

Troy seethed and said, "I'm going to enjoy watching you die one of these days."

"You're too weak kill me. In fact, I don't think Carver will kill me either." Zach said.

Troy's glare intensified and he stared at Zach. "Just get to Bill's office before I put a bullet in your head." Troy snapped.

Zach scoffed and said, "Alright. I am getting a bit bored with you." He walked away with a smirk on his lips. He could feel Troy's glare as he exited the expansion. It was a victory for Zach to mess with the guard. However, his smirk disappeared when he saw Reggie's body being eaten by a couple of walkers. Zach shrugged and said, "That idiot should have known that Carver was only using him. It's only right that he did die." He headed for the door and looked to the dead, one-armed man. He didn't feel sorry for him in the slightest. He entered the warehouse and headed for Carver's office.

* * *

Zach approached the office to see Carver staring down at him with a smug smile on his face. Zach felt uncomfortable to see the stare. Something wasn't right.

Zach was about to continue forward, but he turned upon hearing the pitter-patter of children's footsteps. He turned and was surprised to see Keith and Clementine approaching him.

"Hey dad." Keith said.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Zach asked.

"We don't really know. Bonnie told us that Carver wanted to talk to us and she told us to head this way." Clementine explained.

Zach raised a brow. He knew that it wasn't all just coincidence that Clementine, Keith, and he were going to Carver's office. The leader of the community was going to try and corrupt the children. Zach wouldn't allow for it to happen. He went through too much and protected what little innocence that they had left to let some madman to destroy it all. "Alright, well, Carver probably wants to talk to us and have an adult conversation." Zach said.

"What do you mean?" Keith asked with a questioning stare.

Zach squatted down and placed a hand on the shoulders of the children in his care. "Well, it means that he wants to hurt you but not in a normal way. He wants you to learn how he operates by talking to me. And he'll try to make it seem okay to do bad things." Zach said.

"Oh okay. So what do we do?" Keith asked.

"How about you two go back to the yard? Is that where Danielle is right now?" Zach asked. Both children nodded and Zach got back up. "Good, you both head that way." Zach said.

"But won't we get in trouble if we don't do what Carver says?" Clementine asked.

"You let me worry about that." Zach said and he turned to Carver. "Go ahead. I'll be out there in a half hour or so… depends how long this little talk will last." He waited as he heard the children's footsteps head off in the opposite direction. He noticed Carver's smug smile from earlier was gone and replace with a scowl. Zach approached the office while he looked around for anymore weaknesses in the building. He was unsuccessful in finding anything that he and his group could exploit. The building was solid and there were no noticeable weaknesses.

Zach headed up the stairs to see Carver standing at the top. His eyes were analyzing Zach's movements. "You're a strange one." Carver said. "Once I think I have you figured out, you up and surprise me."

"Maybe there's nothing there to figure out." Zach said.

"Hmm… maybe." Carver said. He turned to his office and motioned Zach to come inside. "Come. We have much to discuss." Zach nodded and headed inside. He could hear Carver's footsteps following him as they entered what appeared to be a rather normal office. Zach looked around for any hiding places where a guard could be at. Just like Carver couldn't read him all the time, Zach struggled to predict the older man's actions.

Carver sat down in his chair behind the desk and gestured Zach to sit down as well. Zach looked to the chair and sat down as well. There wasn't anything in the room that could effectively hide a person from view. So, it wasn't an ambush.

Carver cleared his throat and he said, "Now, you've probably heard about our dear friend, Reggie. You may not believe this from what happened, but… I liked Reggie. He was a funny guy. He kept things light. You need folks like that… it's easy to let depression sink in during times like this. But he was weak. And I don't mean because he was maimed, that wasn't his problem. He was weak in will, weak in character. And we can't have that around."

Zach smirked and he said, "You'd be surprised. He tried to stand up to me after I beat the shit out of Bonnie and Troy yesterday. I think he had potential."

"Well, I didn't see much potential in him. There are many more people here that are worth my time and effort as opposed to Reggie." Carver said. "Anyway, there's something that we've been needing to discuss." He leaned forward with his smirk growing. "We can accomplish many things together. First, I do believe that I owe you a debt for helping me to figure out where Luke and his group were. I can't give you anything spectacular since that cabin was the strongest lead I've had in weeks, but I can give you one small reward."

Zach thought to himself. He knew that he couldn't ask for Sophia and get her the medical attention that she needed. He leaned in and said, "I want your two youngest children. I've kind of already adopted them, but if society was to reform tomorrow, they'd technically be in your care still."

Carver chuckled and leaned back. "You want two useless children from my past? I feel as though you got the bad end of the deal in this arrangement." Carver said.

"Do we have a deal?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, we do." Carver said. "However, I have one more question. I found Carlos as a lurker when we were chasing after you, Luke, and the others. And I didn't see Nick with you. What happened to them? I know that Carlos is too smart and cautious to be caught off guard by something so stupid."

"I killed Carlos." Zach said with a proud smile on his lips. "You would have liked to see it. Made for an interesting show."

Carver smiled as well and said, "Good. I hated that guy. He was always rude. And what about Nick?"

"I let a walker eat him." Zach said.

Carver hummed with a smirk. "Tell you what. I see how effective you can be. You and I were always meant to be leaders. We are strong, and they are weak. It falls to people like us to bring them to safety."

"We're also responsible in assuring their safety, by any means necessary. They're too weak to realize when a person is too much of a threat, and that's where we come in. We sometimes have to weed out the troublesome members, so they don't put the rest of the group risk." Zach said.

"Exactly." Carver said. "You know, I've been looking for someone like you. Someone strong to become my new enforcer. No one in the community comes close. Tavia is wrapped up with too many assignments to take on such an important role and the others are too weak. So, all I am left with is Troy." A scowl formed on his features and he shook his head. "That idiot can't do a blasted thing right. I've wanted him dead for so long." He leaned forward again and a smile formed on his lips. "So here's the deal. You kill Troy, and you can take his place. I'll let you have some time to think about it."

"Bill, you there?" A woman's voice was heard from the radio on the table.

Carver went up to the radio and picked it up. "Yeah? I'm here." Carver replied as he looked out to the hardware store from his office.

"The loading bay door is jacked." The woman replied. "Troy really knocked the shit out of it."

"How bad is it?" Carver asked.

"Rails are tweaked so it won't shut all the way." The woman explained. "I don't think it's an emergency or anything, but it's something that Stan should take a look at when he can."

"I'll get him on it. Out." Carver said with a grumble. "That f****** idiot. A herds on its way and he puts a ding in my door. Go on out back to the yard… it's almost supper time." Carver said.

Zach got up and walked to the door while he thought of a plan to help Sophia. The predicament that she was in was going to be tricky. He proceeded to exit the office and went towards the yard as he continued to try to form a plan. There was no other option. He would have to do some favors for Carver, if he wanted to get Sophia out of the expansion.

…**To be continued.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Sophia or Madeline Carver. They belong to FanFic Productions.**

Zach entered the yard and noticed that his fellow group members were seated around the fire. He approached them as Kenny continued, "…Because we all know what happened this morning. I don't know what that sonuvabitch is going to do next!"

Zach walked over and looked to Clementine with a smile. "Hey, sweetheart." Zach said to his adopted daughter.

"Hey daddy." Clementine said and she got up from her seat. Zach sat down and placed the girl on his lap. She snuggled up to Zach for the warmth and comfort that he provided.

"So you wanna just ring the dinner bell for a herd of walkers to show up?" Mike inquired. "How's that better?"

"Cause this place will be in fucking chaos when that thing hits." Kenny explained. "No one'll be payin attention to us. And that's when we go. That's our opening. We just got to figure out a way to draw them to us."

"Kenny, think. That puts us in danger if we bring the herd to come bulldoze this place." Carley said.

"Your friend here is trying to get us killed by lurkers before Bill can do it." Rebecca said to Zach.

"What is it with you?" Kenny asked.

"That's what it sounds like to me." Rebecca replied.

"You know that's not what he's saying… but it does sound dangerous." Sarita said.

"This shit is all dangerous!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Kenny!" Sarita snapped. "Do not speak to me like that!"

"Okay, okay, sorry." Kenny apologized.

"I agree with Kenny." Clive said. "Staying in here any longer is a mistake. The longer we wait, the more time Carver has to come up with a plan to kill us all. We've already seen what happened this morning."

"It is a mistake to bring the herd in here." Doug said. Danielle was resting on his lap. "There's too many factors and variables that could end up costing us."

"We'll come up with a different plan. One that doesn't involve putting ourselves through so much risk." Carley said.

"Yeah, that would be best. It's too risky to bring the walkers here." Natalie said. Madeline was resting in her arms.

"Maybe Luke could help us… he's outside." Adam explained. "He wants a radio to keep an eye on the guards."

"Wait, what?" Zach asked as he turned to the boy.

"Well, yeah. Luke talked to me, Lizzy, and Sarah when we were supposed to head back to the yard." Adam said.

"Thank you." Rebecca said. "That's the plan I vote for."

"You know about Luke?" Elizabeth asked.

"He flagged us down when Troy wasn't looking." Mike explained. "Told us his plan… mentioned that he talked to you three."

"If Luke can tell us what's going on with the guards, we can use that to pick a good time to escape." Natalie explained.

"That seems reasonable." Sarita said. Zach shook his head and a scowl formed on his face. He didn't like the plan. It was a faulty plan. It was the same plan that got Luke and his group out the first time, but it also led to where they were now.

"Who knows when that'll be?" Kenny inquired. "There was a girl back at Crawford that used church bells to send walkers all over the city. We just need something really loud."

"The PA system that Carver uses is quite loud." Sarita said.

"There are some speakers outside the building… pointing towards the parking lot." Doug said. "I saw them when I was working on the solar panels."

"My dad has the PA system controls in his office." Keith said. "There's a switch in there that will turn on the speakers."

"How do you know that?" Mike asked. Everyone looked to Keith waiting for his reply.

"I used to help mom with announcements when she was still alive." Keith explained. "I accidentally turned it on once; thankfully, there wasn't many walkers around to hear it. But it was very loud."

"That's perfect." Kenny said. "We just got to get to his office. Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Keith shrugged and said, "I didn't want to interrupt the adults."

"This is still not a good plan." Rebecca said.

"Beggars can't be choosers. I'm just happy that we have a plan." Alvin said.

"Better yet, let's do both." Doug said. "Even if we bring the herd to us, it's probably good for Luke to be able to tell us where they're coming from."

"You know what?" Kenny said. "Fine. I can get behind that."

"Yeah, two plans are better than one." Clementine said.

"I agree." Rebecca said.

"Okay, so we give that turd the radio, he keeps us posted on the herd's movement. We fire up the PA thing and we bring the walkers to roll over this place." Kenny said.

"And then what?" Mike asked.

"Get some guns and fight our way out." Kenny replied. "I don't know, whatever we can do. We improvise."

"Then that's not a plan." Mike said. "You don't plan to improvise."

"Leave me with the details." Zach said. He looked to the group members with a scowl and he said, "Just keep in mind, whatever plan we go with, we can't hesitate to take a life. Every guard in this dump is an enemy. You kill them no matter what, and if you have a problem with killing, just keep in mind that these guys won't hesitate to kill you and attack the children."

Most of the group members were surprised to see Zach's glare. It was rather intimidating, but they nodded anyway, except for one.

"I… I don't know, man." Mike said. "That seems rather harsh. I mean Carver's the only true threat here. Everyone else is okay. I mean… do we really have to kill them?"

"Absolutely, unless you want to stay in this dump. If you want to stay here, then that's your decision." Zach said. "The rest of us are going to do whatever it takes to get out of here."

"Okay, so how exactly are we supposed to get through the walkers?" Rebecca asked.

"We're going to cover ourselves with their entrails." Zach said. The group looked to Zach with strange looks until he continued, "It's how Clem and I got through Savannah when it got overran with walkers."

"He's right. I do it all the time." The woman said. She had went from her withdrawn state and staying away from the group to standing in front of them.

"First words I ever hear you mutter, and it's just random stupid shit." Mike said.

"Hush." Sarita said to Mike. She turned to the woman and asked, "What do you mean exactly?"

"When you cover yourself in their smell, rub the walker guts all over you… they can't tell you from one of them." The woman explained.

"Now I don't know who's crazier." Rebecca said.

"Actually, it would have to work. How else would Zach and Clementine have gotten through that herd of walkers in Savannah?" Carley said.

Kenny looked to Zach and said, "Alright, we got our plan. Now what do we need to do?"

"We could use the winch to get someone up to the top of the building." Zach said.

"That thing can't hold much weight. It's going to have to be a child." Rebecca said.

"Can't be any of mine." Zach said. "None of them are tall enough. Sarah wouldn't do well in that situation. And Lizzy and Danielle aren't tall enough."

"So that just leaves…" Kenny said and he trailed off. He looked to his adopted son along with the majority of the group.

Adam sighed and said, "Okay."

"Come on, kid." Mike said and he went to the wall that had the winch at the top of it. Most of the group followed with the exception of Doug and Natalie since they had children resting on them.

"Once you're up there, just drop down from one of the skylights. There are shelves and stuff to land on, so… you probably won't fall to your death." The woman said.

"Thanks… I think." Adam said.

"You'll be fine. I know you can do this." Kenny said to Adam.

"Yeah, I'll try." Adam said.

"Be careful, honey." Sarita said as she bent down and hugged the boy.

Adam hugged her back and said, "I will." The two separated from the hug and Adam placed his foot on the hook of the winch. He placed all of his weight on the foot that was on the hook and nodded to Mike as a signal that he was ready.

Mike's response came in the form of him starting to pull the rope for the winch. Adam started to ascend to the roof as the group watched on. "Try to hurry." Mike said. "I don't think they're the smartest guards in the world, but they're no idiots either."

Zach turned his head upon hearing footsteps. He could hear them heading in their direction. "We got someone coming our way." Zach said.

"Dammit. Grab the ladder. I can't be standing here." Mike said to Adam. Adam turned his head and he leapt for the ladder. He was able to grab onto it and he started to climb up the ladder. Kenny, Sarita, and Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief before they were forced to walk away.

The group members dispersed with some going to the campfire while others went around the camp to seem like they were preoccupied with something. Zach went back over to his wife and the two children that he had to care for recently along with Clementine. He was still unsure of the plan to escape.

"Is everything alright?" Natalie asked.

Zach looked up and said, "I don't know about this plan. Running away didn't work last time for these guys. Why would they think that running away again would bring different results?"

"Zach, that's the only plan that we got. We can't fight a camp this big. We'll lose a lot of people and maybe even children." Natalie said with a frown on her lips.

"Maybe, maybe not. I learned a lot from the marines. I can turn this group of survivors into a true menace, and it wouldn't take much time or effort. I know how to outflank an enemy especially when the enemy thinks that he is superior." Zach said.

"Someone could die if we do that. Let's just go with Luke's plan." Natalie said.

Zach huffed and said, "Alright. I'll try to go along with it for now."

"Alright! Everyone go the f*** to sleep." Troy hissed. "I've had a long day with you f****** assholes!"

Zach got up and gestured to Keith and Clementine to walk with him to the plywood beds. Zach could feel Troy's glare on him the most. Natalie followed him and the group members went to a corresponding piece of plywood. Zach laid down with Keith and Clementine laying down next to him. Both children were asleep in a matter of minutes.

Zach could hear Mike whisper which was followed by Adam's and Mike's return.

"Did you get them?" Kenny asked. Adam's reply came in the form of a smirk and he pulled out a couple of radios.

"You little rascal." Kenny said.

"We best get to bed. Troy could come back at any time." Mike said. Adam nodded and went to lay down next to his family members, while Mike went searching for an empty spot to lay down.

"That was so cool." Danielle said. She had been woken up by Troy shouting at the group a few seconds prior, but judging how tired she sounded, it wouldn't be long till she was asleep again.

"Thank you, Adam. We now have a chance." Kenny said.

"I told you, you probably wouldn't die. Nice job." The woman said.

"Thanks… I think." Adam replied.

"Yup." The woman muttered. "Anyway, get some rest."

Zach looked up to the sky. He waited for a few minutes before he got up. He went over to the gate and looked to the guard on watch. "I need to talk to Bill." Zach said.

"Why?" The guard asked.

"It's important. These guys are planning to escape." Zach said.

The guard's eyes widened and he said, "Alright." He opened the gate and allowed Zach to head inside. "Follow me. I'll take you to Bill, and if you're lying, I will kill you."

"Fine." Zach muttered. The guard led the way to the office. Zach received a few glares from the members of the community. They must have heard of how dangerous he was from Bonnie and Troy. The guard stopped Zach at the bottom of the stairs before he went up to Carver's office.

A few minutes passed by until the guard returned. "Bill will see you now." The guard said.

Zach nodded and headed up the stairs. He went inside to see Carver with a smirk. "Well now, Lowell tells me that you have information about an escape plan." Carver said.

"I do." Zach said as he walked over to take a seat. "Plus, I know Luke's whereabouts."

Carver leaned forward and said, "I'm all ears."

"Luke will be waiting in the comic bookstore for someone from the group tomorrow." Zach said. "It should be around mid-day when that happens."

"Excellent." Carver said with a satisfied smile. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, we had someone from the group get inside the warehouse. That person got us a pair of walkie-talkies and we were going to use them to connect with Luke." Zach explained.

"I see." Carver said. "Extraordinary to think that you would turn on your own people."

"I didn't have a choice. If they think that running away is going to solve anything, then I can't help but be disappointed in them." Zach said.

"Precisely, they can't just run away from their problems and hope that will be the end of that." Carver said. "You've helped me out quite a bit, so what will you want for a reward?"

Zach leaned forward and said, "I want to adopt your other daughter, Sophia, and give her the medical attention she needs to recover."

"Hmm… seems like we have a deal." Carver said. "I couldn't figure out a good way to get rid of her. I thought about feeding her to the walkers since she won't ever become the leader of this community, but I couldn't bring myself to do so." Carver explained. "I had Tavia torture her and record any progress, like hate or anger, but the results have been disappointing. So now, I'm stuck with a useless girl, but it seems you'll be able to take her off my hands."

"Yeah, I can look after her." Zach said.

"Good." Carver said. He gestured Zach to follow him out of the office. Zach obliged and they headed out of the office. Carver looked to the guard below and said, "Zach is going to get Sophia from the expansion. Then he needs access to the medical facility. Help him out where you can."

"Yes sir." Lowell said.

Carver nodded and headed back into his office. Zach headed down the stairs with the guard following close behind him.

Zach and the guard left Howe's and were in the fenced-in area around the emergency exit. Zach headed over to the expansion. He went inside and he went to the back door where Sophia was. He was glad that he had the chance to finally help her. Zach headed inside and turned on the light.

The girl's eyes slowly opened and she looked up to Zach. "Who… Who are you?" The girl asked in a hoarse tone of voice. She must have been dehydrated.

"My name's Zach." Zach said as he grabbed one of the glass shards on the ground. He started to cut the bindings that held the girl to the chair. "I'm here to help you."

"I… but what about my dad? He won't… let you…" Sophia said, but Zach interrupted her.

"I made a deal with him." Zach said. He finished cutting the bindings and placed one arm under her back and another under her knees. He lifted the girl up and was saddened to find out that she was as light as his eight year old daughter. He carried her out of the room while the guard turned the light off.

They exited the expansion and headed back inside Howe's. Zach headed out into the yard where the former marine shook his sleeping wife awake. "Natalie, wake up." Zach said as he nudged her shoulder.

Natalie's eyes opened and she looked to Zach with a questioning stare. "Zach? What's going on?" Her eyes looked to the malnourished child in Zach's arms and her eyes widened. "Who's that and what happened to her?" Natalie asked.

"Well, this is Sophia. Carver has been torturing her in the hopes of her becoming insane." Zach said.

"My gosh." Natalie said as she sat upright while holding the toddler in her arms.

"I can take over in watching the kids for the rest of the night if you can help Sophia." Zach said.

Natalie nodded and asked, "How do you want to exchange children?"

"Give me Maddie first, then you can get Sophia." Zach said. It only made sense for Zach to do it that way since Natalie wasn't as strong as him. He adjusted Sophia in his grasp so that he was using one arm to hold her, and he used the other arm to take Madeline.

Natalie gave the toddler to Zach and took the ten year old from Zach's grasp. "I got her." Natalie said.

"Thanks babe." Zach said. The two adults exchanged a kiss before Natalie left with the guard to go inside and Zach walked over to lay down. He was surprised that Madeline hadn't moved. She must have been tired.

Zach looked over to see that Clementine and Keith were also resting. A smirk formed on his face. He couldn't wait to see Keith's and Madeline's reaction to see that their older sister was alive. Zach laid back and relaxed before he closed his eyes.

* * *

"Daddy." A young girl's voice said. Zach opened his eyes and he looked to the source of the voice. It was his four year old daughter, Madeline. "Morning daddy." The toddler chimed.

"Morning baby girl. How'd you sleep?" Zach asked. He sat upright while holding the young girl. He could tell that morning had come by the sun peaking over the horizon.

"I good. Where mommy go?" Madeline asked.

"They called her in early last night." Zach said as he got up. He noticed that his fellow group members were at one of the tables. "I wonder what's going on over there." Zach said. He turned and noticed that Clementine and Keith were gone. Zach figured that they were with the group.

Zach walked over, but along the way, Madeline looked to Zach and said, "Me want down."

"Okay but you got to take my hand." Zach said. The girl smiled and nodded her head. Zach found it rather strange that the girl was so awake and active in the morning. She usually was half asleep and somewhat grumpy. Zach and Madeline approached the table while the group members were discussing amongst themselves.

"So, how exactly do we get the other radio to Luke?" Rebecca asked.

"Kenny, Zach, Alvin, Mike, and I will be the closest to the comic bookstore. One of us can slip in there while Troy ain't looking." Clive said.

"I doubt that asshole is going to be that lenient." Zach said. All eyes turned to him as he and Madeline reached the table. "Troy will be all over us because of what happened yesterday."

"He's right. We should-" Kenny said, but he stopped himself when the gate opened. He snagged the radio from the table and placed it in one of his coat pockets.

The radio was out of sight as Tavia entered the yard. "Time to get up." Tavia said. "Daylight's burnin. They let y'all sleep in all things considered."

"Hey, where's my mom?" Clementine asked.

"She's where the rest of you are going. To work." Tavia said. "Jane, Sarita, Carley, Sarah, Elizabeth, Clementine, Danielle, if you got to take a piss, do it now. The next break won't be for a while." She looked to the rest of the group and continued, "Rebecca, you'll be watching Madeline today, and Doug, you'll be working on the solar panels. Troy'll be coming out for the rest of you."

The group looked to her with questioning stares and stared at each other. They all had the same question on their minds. "Why just them?" Kenny asked.

"Like I said… Troy's coming for the rest of you." Tavia said. "She looked to the group members that she called on and said, "Let's move ladies."

Clementine and Elizabeth looked to their adoptive fathers. Both gave them an assuring nod for them to walk with the rest of the group.

"Come on, Maddie." Rebecca said as she extended her hand out to the toddler. Madeline looked to Rebecca with a smile and took the pregnant woman's hand. Soon the group that was called on had left the yard and the gate closed.

"Alright, look if we're going to do something, we got to do it, NOW." Kenny said. "And if Luke's all we got, then we pair up with him."

"I can do it." Mike said. "Where's the meeting?"

"Haven't we already established that Troy will be on our asses today?" Clive inquired.

"Well, what else are we going to do?" Mike inquired.

"Look, I hate it too, but I don't think we have a choice." Zach said.

"We do have a choice." Kenny said. He looked to the two boys and said, "We'll have one of the kids do it."

"Kenny, that's crazy, man." Mike said.

"Is it?" Kenny asked. "Think about it. Troy ain't going to care what a couple of boys will be doing. He'll be too focused on us."

"Kenny's got a point." Clive said.

"I don't know. That seems rather dangerous." Alvin said.

"Everything is dangerous, but if we don't take this risk, then we're never getting out of here. It's either this or nothing." Kenny said.

"I don't know, Kenny. I-" Zach said but he was interrupted when the gate opened. He noticed that Kenny placed the walkie-talkie in Adam's hooded sweatshirt pocket. Part of Zach wasn't so sure on the plan. He didn't anticipate one of the children being the one to give Luke the radio. He just hoped that Carver wouldn't hurt the child who took the radio to Luke. Either way, the faulty plan was in motion. He looked over to see Troy entering the yard.

Troy stomped out into the yard and said, "Alright little chickens, let's get to peckin. And don't think today is going to be like yesterday. No way. No shenanigans. This rooster's going to be surveying your ass every second of the day, you hear? You got that?"

No one responded to the man especially Zach. "Am I made clear? Yes or no?" Troy shouted at the group.

"Get us to the expansion so we can get this day over with." Zach muttered.

"You really like testing my patience." Troy said. "Maybe I ought to kill you tonight and f*** that wife of yours when I'm done." A sickening smile formed on his lips.

Zach was unsettled by the statement, but he knew to not let the guard know that he was upset. Zach scoffed and said, "What's wrong? Those playboy magazines under your bed not working out for you?"

Troy sent a glare toward Zach and his smile fell. "Zach, please shut up." Mike said. He looked to Troy and said, "Yeah, we're ready to work."

Troy seethed and he hissed, "Come on!" The group followed Troy inside while Zach had a smirk on his lips. It was fun to see the guard get so upset.

"You really got to stop trying to piss him off." Mike said.

"I'll think about it." Zach said with a smirk. Of course Zach wasn't going to stop.

"Hey, Adam and Keith are with me." Bonnie said. Zach looked over to see the woman. She was still bruised up from the beating he gave her the other night.

"Oh shit." Troy hissed. "I almost forgot."

Bonnie stood in front of Troy and glared at him. "Yeah."

"Well, take them, then. I don't care." Troy said as he pushed both children with his assault rifle toward Bonnie.

"Wait, wait." Kenny said with a frightened tone in his voice. "What's going on?"

"None of your business." Troy snapped.

"Just chores of a different kind." Bonnie said. "Come on, city mice." They looked back to the group with worried looks, but they proceeded to follow Bonnie.

"Can't you cut them a break?" Kenny asked. Bonnie turned to address the group as Kenny continued, "They'd rather keep with us… people they know."

"Let them go, Ken." Clive said. "We got work to do."

"Yeah he's right. You have a lot of work to do." Troy snapped. "Now go." Four of the five men headed outside, but Kenny was worried. Zach was worried too, but he had to focus. Now, the children were out of sight. He wasn't going to be able keep an eye on them.

The group headed outside and went over to the expansion to begin working on it. It was similar to yesterday, but this time, Troy was keeping an eye on them and was lashing out at them with insults.

**Two Hours Later**

It was about midday and the group was still working on the expansion. "Hurry up with that shit. I hate babysitting you assholes." Zach stood up and wiped some sweat off of his brow. It was quite labor intensive. However, Zach noticed out of the corner of his eye that the door to the comic bookstore was closing. Someone must have went inside. Zach went back to work, but he stole glances of Troy. He knew that his plan was about to take off. It would only be a matter of time.

Finally, it happened. Troy's radio started up and the guard listened in. "Roger that." Troy said and he went toward the comic bookstore. Zach got up and followed the guard with his hammer in hand. Troy opened the door and went inside while Zach approached the door. He noticed that his fellow group members were staring at him. They all had worried looks on their faces. Their plan was failing, but Zach's was just starting.

Zach entered the comic bookstore and was shocked to see Clementine being forced against the wall by Troy. Zach was about to go into action until he heard Troy say, "You know? I've been wanting to f*** you for a while now. Your shithead dad won't be able to interrupt us now."

The girl whimpered as the man shushed her. "It's alright. It'll be over before you know it." Troy said.

Zach was sickened by the man's intents. He never picked up on the fact that Troy was a pedophile. Zach walked up to the man, and before Troy could turn around, Zach let out an angered growl and delivered a hit to the man's skull. Troy fell over dead, but Zach was enraged. He let out an angered yell and slammed the hammer into the man's skull. Zach huffed before he looked up to his daughter.

Clementine was crying and was against the wall. Zach walked over to her and picked her up. "Shh… it's okay. Daddy's got you." Zach said as he bobbed the girl in his arms. He felt horrible. It never was part of his plan. Zach was expecting Troy to threaten Adam or Keith and Zach would intervene before the guard could harm either one of them. It would be a mistake that Zach did not want to repeat.

After a few minutes, Clementine's cries ceased and Zach asked, "You okay?" The girl nodded her head, but it was clear that she wasn't okay. Zach wished that he could comfort her more, but the next part of his plan went into action. He heard static from Troy's radio. Someone was trying to communicate to him. Zach pulled the girl back and he said, "Daddy needs you to be a big girl for a while. I'm sorry, but I got a way of escape."

"It's okay." Clementine sobbed.

Zach gave her a reassuring smile before he pulled her in again. He was still carrying her and he walked over to the radio and unclipped it from Troy's belt. "Troy, are you there?" A voice asked.

"Hey." Zach said into the radio. "We need help over here!"

"Wait, you're one of the prisoners. What's going on?" The person on the other end asked.

"Walker's broke in! Troy's dead! There's too many to count. We're in the comic bookstore." Zach explained.

"Shit." The guard muttered. "Alright, we'll send some guards your way." The man said and the conversation with the radios ended. Zach's plan was in full motion; timing was going to be critical.

Zach grabbed Troy's assault rifle and handgun before he exited the building. "What's going on?" Clive asked.

"Troy's dead." Zach said.

"You killed him?" Mike exclaimed.

"Shit, the plans ruined." Kenny spat.

"No, it's not. It's just beginning." Zach said. He looked to Alvin and said, "Alvin, I need you to take Clem into that back room in the expansion and hide with her in there."

"Okay." Alvin said.

Zach turned to Clementine and said, "Sweetie, I need you to go with Alvin."

"Okay." Clementine said with a distant and saddened voice. Zach knew that there were probably a thousand questions going through her head at the moment. He handed the eight year old to Alvin before he turned to Kenny and Clive.

"We're going to make our stand out here." Zach said.

"Is everything alright with Clem? I've never seen her like that before." Kenny said.

Zach sighed and he said, "Turns out Troy was a pedophile."

Both Clive's and Kenny's eyes widened in horror. "Holy shit… he didn't…" Clive said.

"No, I stopped him before he had the chance." Zach said. He turned to Kenny and said, "Here, Ken." He handed the handgun to Kenny before he continued. "I wish I had more guns on hand, but we'll just have to make it work."

"What do you have in mind?" Kenny asked.

"I drew Carver's guards out here. Just take cover in the expansion. I'll handle them." Zach said.

"Sounds like a plan." Kenny said. He, Clive, and Mike went to the expansion while Zach got behind the door to Howe's.

A few minutes ticked by before the door opened. Zach could hear several guards coming out of Howe's. "I don't get it. Where are the lurkers?" One of the guards asked. Zach could see them as the door closed. They were looking in all directions except for behind.

In a flash, Zach stood up and fired at the group of guards. Some were able to fire a couple of shots, but they were too inaccurate to hit him. Zach's gun clicked which indicated that he was out of ammunition; however, every guard that exited the building was on the ground. Most were dead while others were fatally wounded. Kenny, Clive, and Mike exited the expansion and approached the guards. Kenny and Clive had satisfied smirks, but Mike was devastated.

"Good job." Clive said.

Zach nodded and he said, "Go get Alvin and Clem. The expansion is too dangerous now."

Clive nodded and he headed to the expansion. Zach discarded the assault rifle and picked up a handgun and another assault rifle with plenty of ammunition in it. Kenny also picked up an assault rifle. However, both men noticed that Mike was with one of the guards who was fatally wounded. It was Bonnie.

"I… I'm sorry." Mike said.

"It's… okay…" Bonnie said with a huff. "We can't… live forever, huh?"

"Please don't… don't die on me." Mike pleaded. However, the red haired woman became limp. She was unresponsive which indicated that she was dead.

"We need to move on." Zach said.

Mike growled before he stood up and said, "You… This is your fault! She would still be alive if it wasn't for you!"

"And we would still be prisoners, if I hadn't killed her and the other guards." Zach said.

Mike glared at Zach and grabbed him by the shirt. "You're worse than Bill. You kill everyone in sight. At least Bill would have given them a chance."

"This is war, asshole." Zach hissed. "These people are against us. You didn't see the US Government giving benefits to terrorists before all this shit, did you?"

"That is completely different! These were Americans at some point!" Mike exclaimed.

"Well they aren't anymore." Zach said and he punched Mike in the gut. Mike grunted from the hit and he backed away. He huffed to catch his breath while Clive and Alvin returned with Alvin still carrying Clementine. "Maybe we ought to go our separate ways, Mike." Zach said.

"No… I'm not letting you get away with the murder of someone I loved." Mike said as he pulled out a gun. It must have been Bonnie's. Zach pulled out his own gun, and they fired.

…**To be continued**.

**A/N: Gotta love a cliffhanger.**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Okay… something interesting popped up in this chapter… Why should I struggle through the repetitive Episodes 4 and 5 of the game which I have done hundreds of times? Instead, let's take a different route that's going to be shorter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Madeline or Sophia Carver. They belong to FanFic Productions.**

Zach yelled in pain as the bullet grazed his arm. The shot drew blood, but if anything, all it did was tear some of his skin off. Zach looked back to see Mike on the ground. Clive went up to the lean man and he turned to the group. "He's dead." Clive said.

"F****** son of a bitch turned on us." Kenny spat.

"You alright Zach?" Alvin asked.

"Yeah, just a graze. Good thing I weaved at the last second. I think that bastard was aiming for my heart." Zach said.

Their conversation was interrupted when there was static on the other end of one of the guard's radio. Zach picked up the radio and could hear Carver's voice. "Tyler, what the hell is going on out there?" Carver asked.

Zach pressed in the button and said, "You underestimated me."

"Zach… what the f*** is this?" Carver said.

"Your guards are dead, Carver, and now, I'm going after you." Zach said into the walkie-talkie before he dropped it and headed inside. He could hear Carver mumbling something over the walkie-talkie as he, Alvin, Kenny, and Clive went inside, but Zach didn't care. He was ready to kill the madman.

"So what's the plan?" Clive asked.

"Stay close to me." Zach said. "Carver only has a few people left."

Zach and the group got closer and closer to the door that led to the yard. Zach motioned Kenny and Alvin to take cover behind several boxes while he and Clive took cover behind a shelf. They could hear footsteps approaching the door before it opened.

"Zach, let's talk about this." Carver said. "After all, I can just give the signal to kill your friends and loved ones in a snap. And I'm not looking forward to dying today." His footsteps were all over the place. He was trying to look for Zach, but it wasn't going to work. "We can start anew… we don't need to kill each other for this place."

Zach could hear his footsteps getting closer and closer to him. He didn't come out since he knew the madman was armed. "Where are you?" Carver muttered before his footsteps signaled his departure from where Zach and Clive were hiding.

Zach lunged from the spot. Carver turned and tried to aim at Zach but the former marine was faster and he was able to tackle the madman. Carver grunted and his assault rifle fell out of his grip. Zach wrestled with the older man, but Carver proved to be strong in close range. He delivered a couple of hard punches before he kicked the marine off.

"Bill!" One of the guards exclaimed.

Zach noticed that the two guards were running over to assist Carver. He turned to Clive and said, "Clive shut that gate!" The older man nodded and acted quickly to shut the gate.

Zach turned back to Carver in time to see the man pull out his revolver. He shot at Zach as the marine weaved from each shot except for one that hit his shoulder. Zach grunted in pain before he fell to the ground.

Zach huffed before he stood upright; however, Carver stood over him with his gun aimed at Zach's head. "You were quite entertaining to watch, Zachary, but now it's over." However, before Carver could fire the shot, Kenny smashed a piece of two-by-four along Carver's head. The man immediately groaned in pain until he regained his composure and punched Kenny. Zach charged toward Carver and tackled him once again. He started to beat on the man, and he delivered several hits before he stopped himself. Carver was bruised and beaten. Carver spat some blood in Zach's face and he muttered, "F*** you, Zach. We could have… accomplished… much together."

"No." Zach said. He dragged Carver off the ground and he placed the handgun against Carver's skull. "It took me a long time to realize it, but… I need to be the leader. You had the right ideas but your execution was too strict." Zach pushed the man forward and he looked to Clive. "Open the gate."

Clive nodded and he opened the gate. Zach looked around and saw the last two guards under Carver; it was Lowell and Tavia. The remaining guards must have been part of the group that Zach killed.

"Bill!" Lowell exclaimed. He took aim at Zach, but the former marine kept a gun aimed at the leader's head. "F***, let him go, asshole!"

"Put your weapons down now." Zach demanded.

The two guards were hesitant at first, but after a minute passed by, both lowered their weapons. "Don't do it!" Carver exclaimed as he tried to wrestle out of Zach's grip. "He'll just kill you!" However, it was too late. Zach pointed the gun at Lowell first and shot him, then he shot Tavia.

Carver ceased his struggling and Zach pushed him to the ground. He aimed at Carver with his handgun and Carver chuckled with an evil laugh. "So what are you waiting for?" Carver inquired. "Show them the kind of monster that you are." The madman gestured to the group. Some were horrified by what they witnessed while others were waiting for Zach to finish off the madman.

"Zach…" Luke huffed in pain and he tried to stand on his own two feet. "Don't do this… Don't let him… pull you down."

Carver laughed and said, "Luke, haven't you figured it out by now? Zach was the one who sold you out."

"Wait, what?" Luke inquired.

"Yeah. He went to my office and told me the whole plan." Carver said as he looked to Zach with a smirk.

"Is… Is that true?" Luke asked the former marine.

Zach looked to Luke with a questioning stare and he asked, "You're seriously thinking that this lunatic is telling the truth? He's just trying to pin us against each other."

"Right… sorry… just… been a long couple of days. I'm so paranoid at the moment that I feel like there's no one I can trust." Luke said.

Zach turned to Carver to see the madman glare at him. There was nothing that Carver could say to convince the group that he was right.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's kill this motherf*****!" Kenny spat. He and Clive were next to Zach with glares fixated on Carver while Alvin went to Natalie first and gave Clementine to the woman. He whispered in her ear which must have been him explaining the situation that involved Troy. Then, he went to his wife and adopted daughter.

"No…" Zach said. "We don't have the right to kill him. There's someone here that has more right to killing him than any of us." He turned to Rebecca and offered the handgun to her. "Rebecca, this man has wronged you and your family, so it's up to you on what happens to him."

Rebecca had one of her hands on her bulging stomach while using the other hand to hold Sarah's hand. Her face warped into a scowl and she released her adopted daughter's hand. She approached the three men in front of Carver and Rebecca took the gun from Zach's possession.

"Rebecca, sweetie, how did we get here… you and I… this is just a minor misunderstanding. We can talk about it if you shoot Zach. You see... he's playing you... In fact, he and I are no different." Carver said.

"I am done with your bullshit." Rebecca hissed and she shot the man in the head. Zach noticed that Keith winced from seeing his former father being shot; however, Madeline did not. She must not have known Carver as much as her older brother.

Alvin sighed and said, "Well, now what?"

"If we had to, we could make this place work. We could replace this yard with something better or build it up as an addition to the building." Doug said.

"F*** that. We're going to Wellington." Kenny said.

"Will you just think for two seconds about our situation?" Carley inquired. "Rebecca could be having her baby any minute now, Natalie and Zach have a toddler to look after, and we have kids who aren't ready for that kind of trek."

"It's too dangerous to stay here. There's a lot of bodies here." Clive said. "It's not healthy for the kids to be around that."

"We could always clear the bodies out." Alvin said.

Zach sighed and he said, "I agree. Kenny, we aren't abandoning the journey to Wellington altogether, but let's just take a break and wait out the approaching winter. Plus, it would be nice for the kids to relax. We'll clear out the bodies. Burn them… except for one."

"Which one?" Sarita asked.

Zach sighed. He knew the group would object to the one body that he had in mind. He looked to the group and said, "Bury Carver."

A sudden outburst came from the group. Arguments and rants were being flown all over the place.

"The f***!" Kenny spat. "We aren't doing shit for that asshole!"

"He f***** with my family!" Alvin bellowed. It was very unusual to see him get upset since he was always very calm and collective.

"Why the f***?" Clive inquired.

"Okay, OKAY!" Zach exclaimed as he gestured the group to calm down. "Look, I get it. He f***** with us, but there are people in this group who cared about him, and for that, we bury him."

"Who could care about that asshole?" Kenny spat and he looked around to see if anyone did care about Carver.

Keith raised his hand and said, "I… cared about him… before all of this."

Kenny eased in his angered stance and he sighed. "Alright, but YOU are burying him." Kenny said to Zach.

"That seems fair." Zach said. "I'll let you, Clive, Carley handle the other bodies."

Kenny nodded and he walked inside with Clive and Carley following behind him. Zach turned to Alvin and said, "Alvin, can you take watch? Just make sure to get us if you see that herd approaching."

The remaining group members' eyes widened. "Of course." Alvin said. "I completely forgot about that herd approaching us."

"I think we all did." Sarita added.

"We'll deal with it." Zach said. "This place has very good defenses. Plus… we have one of the smartest people still alive with us." He look to Doug as the man's eyes widened.

"I don't know what you expect me to do." Doug said with horror in his features. "I'm… I'm not a genius."

"You doubt yourself way too much." Zach said. "Besides, you are a genius. You came up with an alarm system back at the motor inn with nothing but scraps."

"But I had time to make it." Doug said.

"Doug, we need something against these walkers. You're our best bet in finding that something." Natalie said.

Doug looked down with a frown and sighed. "Okay… I'll see what I can do." Doug said and he went into Howe's with Alvin following behind him.

"What about the rest of us?" Sarita asked.

"Can you go and gather up weapons? That would be a big help." Zach said.

"Certainly." Sarita said.

The young woman from the previous night started to walk away and Zach turned to her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving." The loner said. There was a long pause before she released a sigh. "This place is going to be a deathtrap regardless of the walkers attacking." Before the others could ask what she meant, the woman left the yard and went into Howe's.

Zach knew that she considered him worse than Carver, and in some respects, he was. However, as it was a year and a half ago, Zach would become cold to keep his family and group alive and to keep the children from becoming cold.

Sarita took her leave and headed inside. Zach turned to Luke, Rebecca, Natalie, and the children. Luke groaned in pain and he said, "I can… I can help y'all..."

"You need to rest." Zach said.

"That rest ain't going to do shit for me… if we're all dead." Luke huffed.

"He's right, Luke. Come on, let's get you to the infirmary." Natalie said as she gestured him to follow her. However, Natalie stopped and looked to Zach. "By the way, our little patient is conscious if you want to bring the kids to see her."

"Yeah, that would be a good idea." Zach said. He looked to his three children, but he noticed that Clementine was still withdrawn. Zach frowned for a moment, but he turned back to Rebecca. "Can you get Adam, Lizzy, Danielle, and Sarah somewhere safe?"

"Yeah, I'll take them to the nursery." Rebecca said. "It's next to the cafeteria."

"Okay." Zach said.

Adam groaned and said, "The nursery? That's for babies."

Zach and Rebecca chuckled. "Well hon, it does have some baby toys in it, but there's stuff for older kids in there as well." Rebecca explained.

Adam's eyes lit up and he asked, "Really?"

"Well, you'll have to come to find out." Rebecca said.

"Okay." Adam said. The pregnant woman led the children to the nursery, but Zach stopped Madeline and Keith.

The two children looked to Zach with questioning stares and the man crouched down. "I'd like you two and Clem to come with me, Natalie, and Luke to the infirmary, then we'll go to the nursery."

"Uh… okay." Keith said with a nervous stare.

"Don't worry, honey. Zach and I have a nice surprise for you and your sister." Natalie said. Keith and Madeline were confused. They had no idea what was going on; however, they weren't the only ones.

"What… uh, exactly is going on?" Luke asked with a similar questioning stare.

"You'll see." Natalie said with a smirk. "Come on." She and Luke headed into Howe's with Keith and Madeline following behind; however, Zach looked back to see that Clementine was still in her withdrawn state.

Zach approached the girl and squatted down to be in her line of vision. "Honey…" Zach said to the frightened eight year old.

A couple minutes passed by until she looked up to Zach. "Wh- Why-?" A long pause followed, and Zach caressed her cheek in a comforting manner. "What am I supposed to do?" Clementine said with a cracked voice and tears forming in her eyes.

Zach sent her sympathetic stare and said, "There's not much I can tell you to do to make this better. But know that mommy and I love you and we will be there for you."

Clementine wiped her eyes from the tears before she hugged Zach. Her adoptive father returned the hug before he picked up the girl. Clementine clung to Zach with a good portion of her strength while Zach carried her inside. Another chunk of her innocence was gone. He hoped that she could recover from what happened, but she had a very vivid memory which would make it difficult for her to recover.

* * *

Zach caught up with Natalie and Luke just in time for them to round the corner to the infirmary. Inside the infirmary was the ten year old girl that Zach was able to help last night. Her feet were wrapped in bandages and she was wearing warmer and cleaner clothing. There were a couple of IV's sticking into her arm.

Luke's jaw dropped and the four year old girl and eight year old boy exclaimed, "Sophia!" They ran to her bedside and the girl's eyes turned to them.

"Hey… glad you guys are okay." Sophia said to her younger siblings. Madeline made a gesture for Sophia to pick her up, but the ten year old frown. "I'm sorry, Maddie. I can't pick you up right now. I'm really… weak." Madeline looked down with a frown while Keith looked to his older sister with a questioning glance.

"What happened to you?" Keith asked.

"Dad… Carver… had Tavia torture me." Sophia said. "He kept me in the expansion… in a secret room."

Natalie helped Luke over to the other bed. He trudged along but he kept his eyes on the malnourished child. "We can't leave this place." Luke said. "If we leave, then chances are more than likely that Sophia will die."

"My thoughts exactly." Zach said. Sophia's eyes went to Zach upon hearing his voice.

"Thank… you. You saved my life last night." Sophia said.

Zach smiled to the girl and approached her. "You're welcome. Concentrate on getting well."

"Yeah. I'll do that." Sophia said. Her eyes turned to Clementine and she smiled. "Hey there. Is this man your daddy?" Clementine nodded which surprised Zach. He thought she was still withdrawn and unresponsive.

"He our daddy too." Madeline said.

Sophia was surprised upon hearing her baby sister say that. She looked to Zach and the man nodded. "I adopted your younger brother and baby sister." Zach said. Sophia was at a lost for words. She looked around the room and contemplated on the next thing to say.

"Sophia, how about you get some rest." Natalie said as she walked over. Zach looked up to see that Luke huffing a bit, but he didn't appear to be in too much pain.

"How's he looking?" Zach asked his wife.

"He's got a couple of busted ribs." Natalie said.

Zach hummed and thought to himself over the situation. It was already unfavorable for him and his group to take on so many walkers with few numbers; however, he would be a fool for leaving the infirmary unattended with one person still being close to death. "Can you stay here when the herd hits? It would be risky for the infirmary to be unattended."

"Yeah, you're right." Natalie said. "I'll stay here for a while."

"No… you don't have to… I can look out for the both of us." Luke said.

"No, you can't." Natalie said. "Sophia's still not out of the woods yet. Her condition can go 180. It's unlikely, but it is possible. If that were to happen, you wouldn't know what to do."

Luke sighed and he said, "Alright… I guess you got a point."

"Just relax for a while. The rest of us will handle it." Zach said. He turned to Keith and Madeline and said, "Come on you two. Let's head down to the nursery, then I got to prepare for the herd to hit."

"Okay." The two children said with both having a frown on their lips. Zach could tell that they didn't want to leave their older sister, but he had to get ready for the herd and he had to bury Carver for his adopted children, in particular Keith. He could tell that the boy had a close relationship with his biological father at some point.

* * *

Zach approached the door of the nursery with Clementine still in a withdrawn state. What Troy nearly did must have traumatized the girl, and Zach would have to talk to her before he would leave the nursery.

Zach opened the door and Madeline ran inside. She knew what the nursery was. It was probably the one place where she could act like a kid. Keith walked in next. He seemed almost hesitant to be in the nursery. Zach could see the worried look on his face. The boy must have been worried about his older sister and saddened by his biological father's death. Zach would have to talk to him as well.

Zach walked over to a nearby chair and adjusted Clementine to where she was sitting on his lap. Zach could hear the laughs and squeals of the other children, but he kept his concentration on Clementine for the most part. "Okay, honey. We really need to talk about what happened." Zach said.

Clementine shook her head and said, "I don't really want to."

"Honey, Troy's gone… he will never try to hurt you again. I know this isn't going to be easy for you to forget, but something worse happened to Danielle and look how happy she is now." Zach explained. Clementine looked over to the happy eight year old girl who was slightly older than her. "She got through that terrible experience because she trusted Doug and Carley… and they eventually became her parents."

"She… she does seem really happy." Clementine said with a small smile forming on her lips.

"See…" Zach said. "You're not alone in this, sweetheart. There are a lot people who care about you. Plus, you're tough as nails. You survived two days all by yourself at five years old."

Clementine giggled and said, "Yeah, I guess I did." She frowned and said, "Sorry about all that."

"Honey, you were scared and confused. It was perfectly normal for you to go through that." Zach said.

Clementine smiled and hugged Zach. "Thanks daddy. You're always so understanding." Clementine said.

"You're welcome, honey. I'm always here if you need to talk." Zach said as he returned the hug. After a couple of seconds, Zach kissed the girl on the cheek and released her from the hug.

However, Clementine gave her adoptive father a stare and she asked, "Could I ask you a favor?"

"Sure honey." Zach said. "What's on your mind?"

"I… um… are we staying here for a while?" Clementine asked.

"Well, if everything with that herd works out, then yes. We'll be here for a long time." Zach said.

"Okay, good." Clementine said. "I… I kind of want to wear something else for a while."

Zach chuckled. He knew what she wanted. Clementine was always more of a girly-girl than a tomboy so it didn't take Zach long for him to fill in the blanks. "You want to wear a skirt again, don't you?" Clementine smiled and nodded. Zach remembered when he and Natalie had to try to convince the girl that she would be safer if she wore jeans. It was a challenge; the girl nearly threw a fit and she was angry with the adults for two hours until she finally got used to wearing the jeans. "Yeah, I'll drag Natalie along and we'll find you something to wear." Zach said.

Clementine sent a smile to Zach one last time before she slid off of him and ran over to join the other children.

However, Keith walked over to Zach and he looked to his adoptive father with a saddened stare. "Could I talk to you next?" The boy asked.

"Of course." Zach said. Keith walked closer to his adoptive father and Zach picked up the small boy.

Keith relaxed in Zach's grip and he said, "Thanks for saving Sophia. I know that couldn't have been easy since you had to deal with my dad."

"I wanted to save her. I know she means a lot to you and Maddie." Zach said. "Are you scared of me now since I killed your father?"

"No, I'm just sad. I may not like what my biological dad did after the walkers came, but I still loved him since… he was family… at some point." Keith said.

"I know hon. It's never easy to… see loved ones become monsters." Zach said as he recalled his experiences with Amaya becoming a walker on the first day that the walkers came. He hadn't thought about her for a long time. "Tell you what. There's something we can do for your dad."

Keith was surprised and he asked, "What? What can we do?"

"I'll be heading outside the wall, so I'll keep a look out for a couple of stick and bring them back to you so you can make a cross to mark where your dad will be buried." Zach said.

"I… I would really like that." Keith said with a smile. "It would mean a lot for Sophia, too. She really liked dad."

"Sounds good." Zach said. He hugged the boy before he placed Keith on the ground. "I'll be back in a few hours… I got a lot of things to do." Keith nodded but there was one thing that Zach had on his mind. He needed to ask the boy something. "By the way, Keith, how are you so smart? Usually the word, biological, isn't a normal word for an eight year old."

Keith chuckled and he said, "Mom said that I was a natural-born genius."

"I wish I was the same way." Zach said. "Anyway, I'd better get to work."

"Okay." Keith said and the boy ran off to join the other children. It was amazing to see all of the children playing and acting their ages again especially with all that has happened. However, Zach didn't have time to waste. He had to bury Carver and try to figure out what to do before the herd hits. He turned to the door and headed out of the nursery. Zach looked down the hallway and headed back to the yard.

It didn't take much walking or time for Zach to reach the yard. He saw Clive and Kenny struggling with the bodies of the guards. "I think that's the last of them." Kenny groaned as he placed the body of Tavia on the wheel barrel.

"I hope so." Clive huffed. "Dammit, that was a lot of them."

"You both holding up okay?" Zach asked.

Both men turned to the former marine and nodded their heads. "Yeah, good as can be expected." Kenny said.

"I'm getting to old for this shit. I'm f******* forty-seven. I never thought I would see myself doing something like this in a thousand years." Clive said.

"You said it." Kenny said. He turned to Zach and he asked, "So, you think we'll be able to take on that herd. The way Carver described it, it's going to be huge."

"Yeah… I don't really know right now. I just wish I knew how many walkers are coming our way." Zach said.

"We could always try to stay quiet and wait for the herd to pass on through." Clive said.

"I wish it was that simple." Zach said. "The problem is that if the herd is too big, they'll destroy this place regardless if we make any noise or not."

"He's right. We got to take them on." Kenny said.

"I just hope you know what you're doing." Clive said before he walked off.

Kenny gave Zach a nod before he pushed the wheel barrel forward. Zach turned to Carver's body and he said, "Alright… I guess you're next on the to-do list."

* * *

Zach grunted as he dug the shovel into the ground. It had been an exhausting four hours of trying to dig enough of a hole for Carver to be buried in. Zach huffed in exhaustion for a couple seconds and looked to the hole. Zach nodded his head and he said, "Deep enough." He got out of the hole and placed Carver's body inside. The hardest part was done. All he needed to do now was bury the corpse. Zach shoveled the dirt back inside the grave. It reminded him of Savannah and the time that he buried the boy that was in the attic. It brought back more bad memories than good. That strange man stalking them, Kenny being over the edge, and Ben screwing everything up was enough to make Zach shutter.

However, just like last time, Zach felt like he was being watched. Someone was nearby. After being out there with his wife and daughter, he knew when something felt off. Zach looked around until he turned around and was hit by a boot. Zach groaned from the hit but he was brought up from the hit to be staring face-to-face with a woman with short blonde hair. The woman seemed angry at first, but her anger turned into shock. "Wait… Zach?" The woman said.

"Molly?" Zach asked. He hadn't seen her since Savannah. Molly released Zach from her grip and Zach stood up.

"Wait, you know him?" A man in his late twenties asked. He had shaggy brown hair and wore a pair of glasses. He was accompanied by a woman in her mid-twenties, a very young African-American boy, and a young boy with brown hair that was about as shaggy as the man's. Neither the man's hair nor the boy's hair were nearly as shaggy as Keith's hair. As for the youngest member of the group, he appeared to be four or five.

"Yeah, I know him." Molly said with a smile.

"Can we trust him?" The boy asked. He appeared to be the same age as Keith and Clementine. "I mean he's obviously working for Carver."

Molly frowned and she looked to Zach. "Speaking of which, where is Carver?"

"Look for yourself." Zach said as he gestured to the grave.

"You killed him?" The boy asked. "That's bullshit."

"Jake!" The woman exclaimed. "Please, not in front of Gil."

"Well, it's true!" The boy, Jake, exclaimed. "How are we supposed to trust this guy?"

"Jake and I ran into Patricia, Randy, and Gil a few days ago. They went here seeking help, but they were shot at by some of the guards. Randy nearly died from it all." Molly explained.

The man, Randy, nodded and he said, "I got shot in the leg. I had to limp to the treeline… Good thing the guards weren't good shots."

"I know you can't be working for that asshole, so what's the deal?" Molly said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Carver abducted my group back at a ski lodge, his biggest and last mistake. I made it seem like he could trust me, and when the moment came, I stabbed him in the back." Zach said.

"See what I mean by not trusting this asshole." Jake said. However, he only received a glare from Patricia for swearing in front of the child in her arms.

"Jake… you can trust him." Molly said to the boy. She turned back to Zach and said, "Sorry about him... He's a bit on edge."

"Aren't we all?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, no kidding." Molly said. She looked back to the hardware store and she looked to Zach. "So, you have any room for us?"

"Yes, please… we won't make it for another day out here. My husband needs medicine or something for his leg and I need to find someplace safe for our little boy." Patricia said with a pleading tone. Randy was also giving a pleading stare, but the boy, Jake, just looked to Zach with a scowl. Jake didn't trust Zach.

Zach nodded his head and he said, "Yes, but we have a herd coming our way. I'm going to need every capable person to hold a gun and fire at the walkers."

"We can do that. Patricia and I know how to shoot." Randy said.

"Very well. Let me finish burying Carver and I'll take you all inside." Zach said to the group. Randy and Patricia gave an appreciative nod and Zach continued to bury the dead madman.

"So, what's your group like?" Randy asked.

"Well… we got several families inside." Zach explained.

"That's good… It'll be nice to see Gil socialize with children like him." Patricia said. Zach placed more and more dirt into the grave but he noticed the boy, Jake, joining next to him.

"How can we trust you?" Jake asked.

Zach chuckled and he said, "You're a little too young to be asking that question."

"Just answer the f****** question." Jake hissed. "I don't want this group to be staying with a madman or worse!"

Zach finished shoveling dirt into the grave and he said, "Well… there's nothing I can say to convince you to trust me straight off the bat, but if you could give me and my group a chance, then we'll show you that we aren't so bad. However, I'd be lying if I told you that we were all good people. There are a couple of annoying assholes in my group, and I certainly have my moments, but we aren't going to kill you or anything like that." Zach walked over and stuck the shovel into the ground.

Jake looked down and sighed. "Okay… I guess I should give you a chance." Jake said.

"That a boy." Zach said with a smirk and placed a hand on the boy's head for a moment before he walked past him.

"Asshole." Jake said with a chuckle.

Zach turned back to the group and he said, "Come on. It's not safe to stay out here for too long." The group followed Zach. The former marine noticed that Randy was limping which meant that Natalie would have to take a look at him. However, it seemed as though that the man was falling behind from the rest of the group.

Zach stopped and he turned to them. Patricia was also keeping an eye on Randy. "Go, I'll get to the door; it'll just take me a little more time than the rest of you." Randy said. Zach ignored the man's request and went back to help him. "I'm fine." Randy said.

"Bullshit." Zach said as he helped support the man. "A walker could outrun you at the pace you're going." Zach continued forward while he helped Randy. The rest of the group followed Zach as he and Randy got closer and closer to the door.

"Thanks..." Randy said. "It means a lot that you're willing to take us in."

"No problem." Zach said.

…**To be continued.**

**Disclaimer: I know this one was a bit late but that was the whole point. I do not own Jake Jackson. He belongs to Ken10HeroForce.**

**A/N: Oh yes… that's much better than the bland Episode 4 and 5. By the way, I don't do this very often, but I need some OC submissions. I will do my very best to incorporate these submissions into the story, but no promises. I will be adding in six more OCs from FanFic Productions (it's all family members except for one) and I'm not sure how many from Ken10HeroForce… maybe none… I don't know. I'll have to talk to him.**

**However, I would like to work with other OCs especially since I'll be using my friends' OCs in Independent. So here are the rules for your OC submissions. You can only enter ONE OC unless your OC is very dependent on another OC… like if you have a toddler and parental figure… then the parental figure would be added in with the toddler. Plus, please fill out the fields below for your OC; otherwise, I may not use that OC.**

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Ethnicity:**

**Age:**

**Personality:**

**Appearance:**

**Background/History:**

**Strengths:**

**Weaknesses:**

**Other: (This field isn't required. It's only there if you want to add anything else about your OC)**

**Thanks again… and please understand that I will try my best to incorporate your OCs into the story. I apologize in advance if I fail.**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Hey guys, just want to thank you for the OC submissions. I do have some comments/concerns about a couple of them. Plus, I should mention that I will submit some OCs on my end as well.**

**Watchman1985: Very interesting OC. However, I can't use his daughter since she is independent and the rule was one OC except if OC had a dependent OC or was very dependent on another OC. But I can definitely use Diego**

**Everyday Bro: I can accept both OCs because Tess is very young and is very dependent on Thomas.**

**Smeake: Make sure you get back to me on this. I know your OC isn't looking for a relationship, but would it be alright if your OC was in a relationship for this Fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**I do not own Madeline or Sophia Carver. They belong to FanFic Productions**

**I do not own Jake Jackson. He belongs to Ken10HeroForce**

Zach entered Howe's while he supported Randy. Patricia, Gil, Jake, and Molly followed him inside. Zach looked around until he spotted Doug approaching the small group. "Well now. This is a pleasant surprise." Doug said.

"Yeah. They found me outside while I was burying Carver." Zach said.

"Yeah, he got his ass kicked by Molly." Jake said with a teasing smirk. "I guess you're not as tough as you look."

"Hey, she snuck up on me. Besides, I beat her once." Zach said.

"He's actually telling the truth. He beat me the first time. Nearly took my head off with that sword." Molly said.

Doug smiled to Molly and he approached her. "I never got the chance to thank you for going into Crawford for me." Doug said.

"Wait a minute. Were you that big guy that was in Zach's group? Had a busted knee?" Molly asked with shocked eyes.

"Yeah, I was. I'm Doug." Doug said.

"Wow, you've changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you. You've thinned out a bit." Molly said. "I'm Molly."

"I better get this guy to the infirmary." Zach said as he gestured to Randy.

"Got it. I got some good news." Doug said. Zach started to head to the infirmary while Doug walked next to him. Molly's group followed Zach and Doug as the stocky man continued, "I was able to access one of the satellites in orbit. Right now we have a view of the nearby area. It took me a while to establish the link, but we now know when that herd is going to hit… and how big it is." Doug looked down with a worried look on his face.

"How big is it?" Zach asked.

Doug shook his head and he sighed. "It's big. It's big enough to flatten this place in two hours."

"Damn… when will it hit?" Zach asked.

"I calculated the speed of the walkers and the distance from them and Howe's. We've got four hours to prepare." Doug said.

Zach hummed before he released a sigh. "Alright. Thanks Doug. Can you distribute some of the walkie-talkies to the members that are going to be outside and one to Rebecca?"

Doug nodded and he said, "You got it." He walked off as Zach and Molly's group got closer to the infirmary.

"Looks like you guys are in trouble." Molly said.

"You don't know the half of it." Zach replied as they reached the infirmary. Luke and Sophia were sound asleep on the hospital beds that they were on. Natalie closed up her book and walked over to Zach and Randy.

"What's going on?" Natalie asked. "Who's this?"

"His name's Randy." Zach said. "He came here with his family looking for a place to live a few days ago."

Natalie looked up to the group that was accompanying Zach. She smiled to them, but when she spotted Molly, she gasped and hugged the woman. Molly smiled and she returned the hug. "Good to see you again, Natalie." Molly said.

"My gosh." Natalie said. She released Molly from the hug and looked to the woman with a warm smile. "How are you doing? I haven't seen you since Savannah."

"Well, still alive… somehow." Molly said.

Natalie looked back to Randy and said, "Okay, I need to clean and stitch up your wound." Natalie looked back and grimaced when she noticed that she only had two beds and both were occupied.

"It's okay. I can sit down in a chair and get this gunshot wound treated." Randy said.

"Okay… sorry. We just took over this place today." Natalie explained as she went over to grab a chair. She placed the chair nearby and Zach helped Randy to sit down.

"Is daddy going to be okay?" Gil asked. The boy was standing next to his mother while holding Patricia's hand. Zach and Natalie smiled to the young boy as Gil stared at Patricia.

"Yes baby, daddy will be okay." Patricia said to the young boy.

"I'll be fine, Gil." Randy said to the boy.

"I'll give you some morphine to numb the pain." Natalie explained as she drew from a glass vial with a syringe.

"Okay, thank you." Randy said.

Zach gestured for the group to follow him and they headed out of the infirmary. However, Jake appeared hesitant to follow the group.

"Come on, Jake. Give Natalie some space so she can help Randy." Molly said to the boy. Without a word, Jake left the room with Molly close behind.

Zach led the group to the nursery next. He could tell that Gil was becoming a bit antsy. He probably wanted to explore the hardware store. Zach could hear the squeals and delight of the children as he approached the door.

"Are those children?" Patricia asked.

"Yes. Like I said out there, there's a lot of families here." Zach said.

Zach opened the door to see that the nursery was filled with excited children and Rebecca who seemed to be overwhelmed. There was a lot going on for her and she was late in her pregnancy to add on top of it. Zach could see his two older children playing with Adam and Sarah while Madeline, Danielle, and Elizabeth were playing duck, duck, goose.

"I wanna play! I wanna play!" Gil exclaimed.

Patricia smiled to the boy and she said, "Okay baby, go play." She released the young boy's hand and he ran over to join Danielle, Madeline, and Elizabeth. Patricia smiled and she said, "I haven't seen him get that excited in a long time. Would it be alright if I stay here and help that woman over there?"

"Of course, Rebecca looks pretty overwhelmed." Zach said.

"Thank you." Patricia said with a smile. She walked inside the nursery and Zach turned to Jake.

"Well, it might be a nursery, but there's stuff in there for older kids too." Zach said.

"I'm not a kid." Jake said and he walked away from the nursery.

Zach sent a questioning stare to Molly and he asked, "What was that all about."

Molly sighed and she said, "He's been that way since I met him. He does care, and he has looked after Gil a couple of times, but he's really cold. This world has taken everything from him."

Zach crossed his arms over his chest and he sighed. "At least he isn't giving up." Zach said. "He'll go back to being a kid eventually… It's just going to take time."

"Yeah." Molly said.

Zach looked inside the nursery and back at Molly. "I need to talk to Rebecca. I'll be back out in a minute."

"Okay." Molly said. "I'm going to look around and try to find Jake before he gets himself into trouble."

Zach chuckled and he said, "Have fun."

"Don't worry about that. Jake always manages to keep my life entertaining." Molly said and she walked off in the same direction that Jake went.

Zach turned to Rebecca and Patricia as they continued to watch the younger children. "It's nice to finally see them act like kids." Patricia said.

"I know, but it has left me wiped out." Rebecca said.

"Hey Rebecca." Zach said.

Rebecca turned to Zach and she asked, "Hey Zach. What's going on? Do we know when that herd is going to hit?"

Zach nodded and he said, "It'll be here in four hours."

Rebecca's eyes widened at the mention of the dreaded herd arriving so soon and she huffed.

"Remember what was mentioned last night around the fire about the walkers? How you can make walkers think that you're one of them?" Zach asked.

Rebecca looked up and she said, "Yeah I remember."

"Good. You might have to do that if we can't hold off the walkers outside." Zach explained. Rebecca nodded while Patricia appeared to be confused.

"I'll go get some bedsheets just in case that happens." Rebecca said and she left the room. Zach nodded before he left the room as well. He released a yawn as he went down the hallway. He was tired, and he knew his body was aching for sleep. All of the preparation would be no good if Zach didn't get some sleep before the herd came. He had less than four hours to get some shut eye. Zach walked into one of the bedroom and laid down. It took only seconds for him to fall asleep.

* * *

"Hey wake up." Clive said. Zach felt like it was only seconds ago that he laid down to sleep. His body must have been exhausted; however, he has pushed himself over his limits before. If he had to, he could go beyond his limits again.

Zach groaned as he got up from the bed. "You feeling alright?" Clive asked with a concerned look.

"Yeah. Just trying to get some shut eye." Zach said. "How close is that herd?"

"That's why I'm here. The herd's at our front door step. We need to do something now." Clive said.

"Yeah I guess so." Zach said. He stood upright from the bed and he headed out of the room with Clive joining alongside him.

"Listen, if things don't work out when we're taking out that herd, I just… wanted to say thanks. You gave me a second chance… that's a lot nowadays." Clive said.

"You've been a big help, Clive. Don't let what happened in the past affect you." Zach said as the two friends went up the stairs and to the roof.

"Thanks…" Clive said. The two friends reached the top of the stairs and Zach opened the door to the roof. He saw Carley, Sarita, Kenny, Alvin, Molly, Randy, Patricia, and Jake with assault rifles and handguns. The evening sun in the sky was starting to dip down in the sky which meant that the group wouldn't have much light to work with.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why's the kid up here for?" Zach asked as he approached the group.

"I'm not a kid, asshole." Jake said to Zach. "I can fight just as well as you guys can."

"I tried to tell him to go back down to the nursery, but he wasn't having it." Kenny said.

Zach sighed and he looked to the boy. "Alright, considering how dire our situation is, I'll let you help us, but ONLY this one time."

"You aren't the boss of me. I'll help you out whenever I want to." Jake said with a victorious smirk.

"You are one stubborn kid." Zach said. "Make sure you don't lose that."

Jake chuckled while Carley handed Zach his handgun and katana along with a new assault rifle. "Doug's on the computer and is tracking the herd's movements. He has all the radios monitored to him."

"Good." Zach said. "I knew he would come up with something."

"Here they come." Kenny said as he took aim at the approaching herd. The remaining group members took aim at the walkers as well.

"Guys the herd is coming. You see it." Doug asked.

"Yeah, we see it." Clive said into his radio. Zach breathed out a huff as he looked at the approaching herd. The herd had to be twice the size of the herd from Savannah. It was huge. The moans and groans of the walkers echoed as they got closer and closer to Howe's.

Zach held down on the button to his radio and he said, "Doug, you let us know if they somehow get in."

"Will do." Doug said.

Zach clipped the radio to his belt and he looked back to the herd. He took aim along with the group. "Ready whenever you are." Kenny said.

A few seconds went by as the herd of walkers got closer and closer. The tension within the group of ten was thick. Anything could set any one of them off into a shooting frenzy. "Fire!" Zach exclaimed and he pressed his finger against the trigger of his assault rifle. The group fired at the approaching herd.

Everything was complete chaos. Walkers fell left and right as the group fired at the immense herd. The sound of gunshots must have roared for miles. Every once in a while a couple group members had to reload their assault rifles or pistols. However, despite their efforts, the walkers kept coming. It was as if killing one walker spawned two more in its place.

Minutes of firing at the herd became an hour. Zach huffed as the pain from his shoulder made him lower his rifle. The gunshot wound from earlier wasn't severe and was somewhat bearable, but it had intensified because of constant use.

"There's so many of them!" Alvin exclaimed.

"Keep firing!" Kenny exclaimed. "They are not getting in this place!"

Suddenly, there was a loud crunching bang and the group members looked to each other. Zach grabbed his radio and he asked, "Doug, what was that?"

"Oh shit…" Doug muttered. "They got in."

"Shit." Zach muttered. He looked to the group and he said, "Alvin, Kenny, Molly, you three are coming with me. The rest of you keep firing at that herd.

"I'm coming with you." Clive said.

"Me too." Jake said.

"No, you both stay here, dammit!" Zach exclaimed.

"Ain't happening." Clive said.

Zach sighed. He knew that he didn't have time to argue with the two. "Fine… dammit, you're both too stubborn for your own good." Zach said as he ran for the door to head back into Howe's. He slammed the door open and ran down the steps with Alvin, Kenny, Molly, Jake, and Clive following behind him. Zach ran down the steps and immediately saw a smaller herd inside. He gritted his teeth and yelled out an angry cry as he drew his katana.

A couple of the walkers turned toward Zach but they were killed before they could do anything. The remaining walkers turned toward Zach as the former marine slashed at them. Each of his slashes resulted in another dead walker on the ground.

"Holy shit." Alvin said.

"That bastard doesn't die easily, but he can still die if we just sit on our asses." Kenny said as he brought out a tire iron and rushed in as well. Molly used her ice pick and killed a couple of walkers alongside Kenny and they tried to catch up with Zach.

Jake ran into the herd next with a hatchet. He was followed by Alvin who was carrying a hammer and Clive who was using a machete. Jake may have been half the height of the approaching walkers and he was still a child, but he was no slouch in killing them. If anything, he was able to keep up with the adults which spoke volumes of his strength and advanced reflexes.

Just as Zach remembered back in Savannah, Molly was almost able to keep up with him. She had improved on her already impressive skill of melee combat with her ice pick. She sequenced in kicks and stabs with amazing precision.

However, Zach's movements weren't as precise as usual. He normally would attack with his katana only, but now, he was punching and kicking the walkers back whenever he could. Anything that got too close was sliced to pieces.

It didn't take long for the group to kill every walker within the building, but there was a problem. One of the garage doors to outside was torn open. There was dark red blood everywhere on the door which made Zach sigh.

"There's no way we can fix that. More and more are just going to get inside." Molly said.

Zach nodded and he said, "We'll take the fight to them." He ran through the opening and killed two more nearby walkers. He looked around and huffed.

"Zach!" Kenny exclaimed as he and the other group member ran outside to join him. "Are you nuts?" Kenny asked. "We'll die out here."

"It's time that we prove that we want this place!" Zach exclaimed as he sliced at a couple of walkers. "We've worked hard to get to this point! We just need to put in a couple more hours of work!" More and more walkers gathered around the group and they killed them with their melee weapons.

"He's nuts." Jake said.

"Zach, this isn't going to work. We'll head back inside and come up with a different plan." Molly said as she kicked a walker away.

"We are out of time to come up with a plan." Zach said. "Now, we're going to kill these undead bastards!"

"Damn straight!" Clive exclaimed as he slashed at an approaching walker.

With no other option, Zach's fellow group members accompanied him and they formed a circle to protect each other's blind spots. Time passed by as more and more walkers fell to Zach and his group. Zach led the way as he killed more and more walkers. The walkers seemed to only keep coming, but Zach and his group just killed the undead creatures with their melee weapons. Additionally, more and more blood drenched the group members.

Time passed by as the group continued their killing spree on the undead creatures. They were all exhausted and some were covered in the walkers' entrails. Even Zach was becoming winded. However, the walkers kept coming toward them. Gunfire could be heard in the distance as Zach kicked back another walker and huffed. The other group members were barely able to stay away from the walkers trying to bite down on them.

Suddenly, a walker climbed on top of Zach and knocked his katana away. Zach grunted as he hit the ground and the walker snapped its teeth at him. Zach let out a yell and he placed his arm into the walker's mouth. The walker bit down, but it gave Zach the opening he needed to punch the creature off of him.

He got up and punched the next walker that was approaching him before he stomped on the creature's skull. Another walker approached him and he grabbed the creature and threw it over his shoulder. He stomped on that walker's head as well before he looked up to see another walker. He huffed as he approached it as well. The exhaustion was overwhelming. He could hear his fellow group members struggling until several nearby gunshot were heard. Zach turned his head to see several new people running toward him and his weary group.

"Hey, you alright?" An Asian-American man asked as he approached Zach. Zach huffed heavily before he nodded. The man wore a black coat, a black shirt underneath, and a pair of blue jeans. It appeared that he had a missing eyes and he had dark hair.

"Yeah." Zach said.

"My group heard the gunshots nearby. We didn't know if we should help you out or not, but… I guess that's not important now." The Asian-American man said. "I know it's a bad time, but my name's Eric."

"Zach." Zach huffed.

"Well, nice to meet you." Eric said. He turned toward the herd with a different kind of katana in his possession. Zach knew the sword was called a chokuto. He still remembered his former father-in-law had a couple in his possession.

Zach walked over and retrieved his katana as Eric and his group attacked the remaining herd. Eric was accompanied by a woman in her early forties. She wore a purple coat, black shirt, and blue jeans. She was about the same height as Rebecca. She hacked the oncoming walkers with a machete.

There was also a very tall and strong man along with them. They appeared to be dwarves standing next to him. He appeared to be much older than them with him being close to his sixties. He wore a red plaid shirt with a grey coat over top of it and a pair of blue jeans. He wielded a baseball bat and it proved to be a deadly weapon in his hands.

They were joined by an Irish-Italian man with some noticeable freckles on his face. He had blonde hair and brown eyes. He wore a white shirt with a blue and green flannel on top, a pair of dark blue jeans, and a pair of black combat boots. He was armed with a crossbow and knife. Even with a long range weapon, he proved to be just as strong in short-range

The final adult within the group was a young woman who appeared to be twenty-six. She had short dark hair, and she wore a Breaking Benjamin shirt which was underneath a college jacket. She wore blue jeans, and she wore a pair of blue rimmed glasses. She wielded a hatchet, and she proved to be able to kill walkers just as easily as her older group members.

However, the group of adults were joined by two older kids who appeared to be in their teens.

There was a girl with a black bob cut hairstyle who wore a black jacket and a dark blue shirt and blue jeans and white shoes. There was also another girl who had a lot of resemblance to Eric. She and the man must have been related in some way. She has long brown hair and she wore a brown jacket, a purple shirt, blue jeans, and black and orange shoes. Both were armed with machetes.

Zach grabbed his radio with his aching arm and pressed the button to contact Doug. "Doug… tell Carley and them that we got help. They just need to aim at the walkers." Zach said.

"Understood." Doug said from the other end.

It was amazing to see the new group function. They employed the same tactics that Zach incorporated. Either, Eric was a former marine or he was something else entirely… something to be feared in this world. Zach and his group watched on as the new group cut down the remaining walkers. It didn't take too long for the new group to cut through the herd's numbers.

Zach looked back and was surprised to see even more of Eric's group arrive. There was a younger girl who appeared to be ten or eleven. She had long, red, wavy hair. She wore a light blue jacket over a black shirt, a white skirt, brown tights, and black shoes

With her was a young boy who appeared to be the same age as her. He had a look of frustration and he shot a glare toward Eric. He wore a leather jacket with a black shirt underneath, a pair of ripped blue jeans, and a pair of Nike trainers. He was armed with a baseball bat, a hunting knife, and a revolver.

Next to him was a twenty year old man with a pair of black-rimmed glasses on. He wore a Florida Gators shirt with a grey coat over top, a pair of blue jeans, and boots. Zach could see that he had an assault rifle with him. More than likely, he was asked to stay back to watch the children of the group. Next to him was a very young girl. She appeared to be the same age as Madeline. She appeared to be related to the Irish-Italian man that was attacking the walkers with Eric. She shared many similarities with him. She wore a pink shirt with a red sweatshirt on top of it, grey sweatpants, and blue shoes.

Next to her was a girl who appeared to be eighteen. She had long, wavy, red hair and green eyes. She appeared to be about the same height as Natalie. Zach was shocked upon seeing that she wore a lettermen's jacket which was the same as Ben's, but smaller to fit her. She wore a white hooded sweatshirt underneath the jacket, a pair of blue jeans, and black boots. She didn't appear to be armed, but more than likely she was.

Next to her was two boy who shared striking similarities with each other. One was slightly older than the other, but both were armed with compound bows. One wore a red hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and black shoes, while the other was wearing an orange hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and grey shoes.

Finally, there was an older man with grey hair. He seemed very familiar to Zach; however he didn't know why. He wore a brown hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black shoes.

"You guys alright?" Zach asked as he turned back to his group.

"F***…" Molly huffed.

"Are you trying to get us f****** killed?" Jake inquired.

"Okay, I admit… I got a bit too brash back there." Zach said.

"Yeah… you nearly got us killed." Molly snapped.

"I get it… not my best moment." Zach said. "Sheesh."

"We made it… that's all that matters, right?" Alvin asked.

Zach turned around upon hearing that there were no gunshots sounding. He saw Eric and his group looking around for any walkers that weren't dead. However, it appeared that their search was coming up empty handed. Zach smiled to see that the herd was gone; their struggles to obtain Howe's was over.

Zach chuckled and he talked into his radio. "Doug… we won." Zach said.

"That's awesome news." Doug said. "We'll have to keep an eye out for more herds like that so we don't have to go through-" Zach's eyes widened when he heard a thud from behind.

Zach whipped around and saw Clive huffing heavily on the ground. "Oh shit!" Zach exclaimed and he ran over to the older man. "Clive! You alright?" Zach asked. He checked the man's forehead as footsteps could be heard from behind. He was warm.

"Here, step aside." The woman in the purple coat said.

"He's warm." Zach said.

The woman checked him and she nodded. "Yeah he is. Come on, let's get him inside."

Zach lifted the older man up and he ran inside. He ignored his body's signs of exhaustion and pain, and he trudged forward to the infirmary.

* * *

Zach showed up to see Luke standing up and Natalie helping him. "Hey what's going on?" Luke asked.

"Clive collapsed." Zach said. "He's got a fever too."

"Okay, get him on the bed. Then I need you to get out of here." Natalie said.

Zach nodded and he placed the Clive's non-responding body on the hospital bed. Natalie scooted him and Luke away. However, she did give Zach a worried stare. Zach knew that he looked horrible, and Natalie's worried stare confirmed his suspicions.

Zach walked out into the hallway and leaned against the wall. He allowed his body to slide down it and his body became very numb.

"It's my fault. I should have been out there with y'all." Luke said as he sat down next to Zach.

Zach shook his head and he said, "I… was too brash… Went out there when we should have stayed inside."

"You sound and look terrible." Luke said. "You going to be alright?"

"Yeah." Zach huffed. "I'm just… exhausted." Luke didn't respond. Instead, he stood upright and tensed up upon seeing Eric and his group walking toward the infirmary.

"Easy Luke. These guys are with us." Alvin said.

Luke nodded and he said, "Alright. Didn't mention that we had new additions."

Zach groaned as he forced himself to stand up. "Yeah…" Zach huffed. "Molly, Jake, Randy, Patricia and Gil came yesterday evening. However, I don't know most of these guys at all. They saved our asses while we were out there fighting off the walkers."

"My name's Eric." The Asian-American man said. He gestured to the woman wearing the purple coat and he said, "This is my wife, Alice."

"Nice to meet you." Alice said. Luke nodded back with a smile.

"I have three daughters with me. Niko, Mary, and Marceline." Eric said as he gestured to the fifteen year old girl with the bob cut hairstyle, a fourteen year old girl with a brown jacket, and another girl who appeared to be eleven with a light blue jacket.

The tallest member in Eric's group walked forward and he said, "My name is Diego Ramirez."

"I'm Thomas and this is my daughter, Tess." The man who wore a blue and green flannel said. He gestured to the very young girl who must have been the youngest of the group.

"Hi." The girl squeaked.

"Hiya, how are you doing?" Luke asked.

"Good." The girl replied. She must have been getting very close to five.

"I'm Evelyn… but you can call me Eve." The young woman with the blue rimmed glasses said.

"The name's Nicholas." The man with the black-rimmed glasses said.

"I'm Lauren." The slightly younger girl next to Nicholas said.

Zach looked to Lauren with a questioning stare and he asked. "I've seen that lettermen's jacket before. Know anyone by the name of Ben Paul?"

Lauren nodded her head and she said, "We went to the same school. He was one of those natural-born loser types. He was kind of a dork… and not in a good way."

"Glad we can agree." Zach said. "He made quite a mess for me and my group."

"Sorry about that. I can assure you that I'm not like him." Lauren said.

Zach nodded before he looked over to a middle-aged man within the group. "Hey there, the name's Richard Weber, but you can call me Rick."

The group members turned to the last three members of the group who hadn't introduced themselves. "I'm Zeke." The ten year old archer said. "This is my younger brother, Decker." The shy, younger boy waved his hand in a form of hello. Zeke turned to the slightly older boy and he said, "This is-"

"None of your damn concern." The boy said with a glare aimed at Zach.

"Brandon, come on. Don't be like that." Eric warned the boy.

"Why are you trusting this guy? Who knows what kind of shit show he's running here!" Brandon exclaimed.

"Dad, he's right. We should have let the walkers eat them!" Niko exclaimed.

"Alright, shut it, the both of you!" Eric exclaimed. Both became quiet, but it appeared that neither were backing down from their stance on not trusting Zach and his group. Brandon looked away while Niko glared at her father. "Now, I understand that we took a risk out there, but this man and his group needed help, and… well we need somewhere to live… for a little while." Eric turned to Zach and he sighed. "I'll cut to the chase. We didn't save you and your group out there from the bottom of our hearts. We need shelter from the cold and the approaching winter, food, and water."

"Well, at least you're honest about it." Zach huffed.

"So… will you take us in or not?" Thomas inquired with a tang of impatience in his voice.

Zach nodded and he said, "Yeah, we're going to need some help… either way you look at it."

"What happened to your arm?" Nicholas asked as he approached Zach.

Zach looked down to the bloody sleeve but he immediately noticed the bite mark. His black hooded sweatshirt was shredded and torn to pieces.

"Is that a bite?" Diego inquired.

"Has to be. I've seen that so many times by now." Thomas said as he aimed his crossbow at Zach's head.

"Easy…" Zach said as he pushed the crossbow away. "I'm immune to the walker's venom."

"Bullshit!" Thomas snapped.

"No, it's true." Luke said. "I've seen him get bit before. He doesn't turn."

"Calm down Thomas." Evelyn said as she placed a hand on his shoulder; however, he shrugged her off.

"Can we get some proof that what you're saying is true?" Richard asked.

Zach nodded and he removed his torn and shredded black sweatshirt. He revealed the bite wound that he received from saving Clementine. It was the day that Carlos tossed her in front of an approaching walker. All members of Eric's group looked on with amazement.

"You're telling the truth." Eric said.

Suddenly, the door to the infirmary opened. Natalie stepped out with red, irritated eyes. "Baby." Zach said as he walked to the woman. She turned and hugged Zach. "He… He's bit. Clive is bit." Natalie said with a sob in her voice.

Zach was stunned upon hearing what his wife said. He placed his arms around her as Zach huffed. He was going to lose yet another friend from the virus.

"Wait what'd you say?" Kenny asked with horror in his eyes. He and Clive didn't get along at first, but Zach could tell that they had become very close friends.

"He's bit." Natalie said as she separated from her husband's embrace.

"You can't amputate it?" Alvin asked.

Natalie shook her head and huffed. She turned to Zach and said, "He wants to talk to you."

Zach turned to the dying man on the hospital bed and he said, "Alright. I'll be back in a bit." Zach walked inside while the group members watched him enter the infirmary. The happy atmosphere of victory over the walkers had turned solemn and saddening one for Zach's group and most of Eric's group.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Oh Clive… you were such an interesting character… oh well… had a good run while it lasted.**

**I do not own Eric, Alice, Niko, Mary, and Marceline Murphy. They belong to FanFic Productions.**

**I do not own Evelyn Prescott. She belongs to AquaDestinysEmbrace.**

**I do not own Thomas and Tess Harrington. They belong to Everyday Bro.**

**I do not own Diego Ramirez. He belongs to Watchmen1985.**

**I do not own Brandon Elvidge. He belongs to Brandon547.**

**I do not own Nicholas Smeak. He belongs to Smeake.**

**However, I do own Zeke, Decker, Rick, and Lauren.**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Alright… I've been very nice about not breaking Zach's perspective in this story… but that will change now. Also, this is a big chapter for the OCs.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach approached Clive. The older man had beads of sweat on his face and he huffed a bit. Clive chuckled and he said, "Well… I had a good run… It lasted longer than what I thought was going to happen. After the dead rose, I wasn't expecting anything less than a painful death."

Zach huffed and he asked, "Why didn't you stay with Carley and the others on the roof?"

Clive huffed and he said, "Because I was going to die either way." He turned to Zach with a solemn stare and he said, "My cancer came back. I don't know how long it's been back, but… I could feel it last night. The pain… that bullshit that I didn't want to go through again."

Zach was speechless. He knew that his group didn't have the equipment to save Clive from his cancer. "So you going into that herd was your way of finishing things?" Zach asked.

Clive smiled and he said, "Yeah… I wanted to do one more thing… before everything went downhill. Besides, I don't want to go through that hell again. Having to go through treatments and therapy is just… torture… F*** it." He looked to Zach with a solemn stare and he said, "I don't want to suffer. I want you or someone who has the damn backbone to finish me. I'm done trying to live through this shit."

"I think we all are, but I understand. I'll go get everyone real quick so they can say goodbye to you." Zach said.

"Just make it fast." Clive said with a huff. Zach nodded and he turned to the door to the infirmary. Zach walked outside and the group looked to him with questioning stares.

"So, what'd he have to say?" Kenny asked.

Zach huffed and he said, "His cancer came back… that's why he went into that herd. He was going to die either way."

"Holy shit…" Natalie muttered with evident tears in her eyes.

"F***…" Kenny muttered.

"Hey guys." Doug said as he, Carley, Randy, and Patricia went to join the group. He noticed that everyone was solemn. "Is everything alright?" Doug asked.

Zach shook his head and he said, "We're going to lose Clive." Carley and Doug jumped upon hearing Zach's input while Patricia and Randy looked to each other with a frown on their features. "His cancer came back and he got bit out there." Zach explained.

"I see." Doug said with a frown. He shook his head and he asked, "What about the children?"

Zach sighed and he said, "They should have the chance to say goodbye to him…"

"I'll go get them really quick." Patricia said.

Zach nodded and said, "Thank you, but if you can, leave Maddie and Gil out of this. They don't need to know about this yet." The young woman nodded in response and she ran off to retrieve the children.

Zach looked to his fellow group members and he said, "Okay, we don't have much time. Once goodbyes are done. I'm going to have to shoot him." Zach said.

"You and your group should say your goodbyes to him. The rest of us will secure this place and get rid of the bodies." Eric said.

Zach nodded and he said, "I appreciate that."

Eric nodded and most of his group members walked away; however, Niko and Brandon gave a glare toward Zach before they stomped off in a different direction from the rest of the group. Plus, Thomas remained.

He walked up to Zach and pinned him to the wall. "You better be genuine and this better not be a trap, or I will kill you."

"Let him go, NOW!" Kenny snapped and he pulled out his handgun. He aimed it at Thomas, but all Thomas did was send a glare toward Kenny.

"Daddy, no." Tess said.

Thomas looked down to the girl before he looked back to Zach with a glare. He released his grip on the marine and took his daughter's hand. He turned and followed Eric and his group along with his daughter while ignoring the untrusting glares from Zach's group.

"That guy's going to be trouble." Kenny said.

Zach nodded and he said, "Maybe… but keep in mind that they're all on edge. In fact, he has every right to be on edge since he has such a young child."

"I still don't trust him." Kenny said.

"I understand how you feel. That Eric guy… something's off about him… I don't know what, but… it feels like there's something not right about him." Zach said.

"He and his group saved our lives out there." Alvin said.

"Yeah… and that was after you nearly got us all killed." Jake hissed.

"Alright… I get it! I f****** up! What do you want from me? Flowers?" Zach spat. The group was rather surprised to see Zach lose his patience. It was out of the ordinary for him. However, Zach was running on fumes, so it made sense that he was a bit angry and easy to provoke.

"No, I want you to actually think about what you're doing before you do something stupid!" Jake snapped.

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Kenny snapped. "Zach is our leader and he's been saving our asses for almost two years now! Who gives a f*** if he messed up once? I'm still willing to follow him!"

"I have to admit that Kenny's right. Zach saved our asses from Carver and his group of assholes." Alvin said.

"It only takes one f*** up for you to die, you idiots!" Jake exclaimed as he looked to the two men. He turned to Zach and spat, "I guess Clive would know all about you and your f*** ups."

"JAKE, that's enough!" Molly exclaimed but it was too late. Jake had done something that only a few people managed to succeed. He had pushed Zach too far.

Zach's eyes widened before they turned into a scowl. He rolled his hand into a fist and he exclaimed, "You little shit!" Zach brought his hand back to punch the boy. Jake's eyes widened and he stumbled away from the marine; however, at the last minute, Zach slammed his fist into the wooden wall next to him. He punched a hole through the wall while the group watched on in horror.

"Zach…" Natalie said as she approached the marine. Zach pulled out his arm from the hole and he huffed.

"Hey pal… We-" Kenny said but Zach interrupted him.

"I'm going to go get some rest. Kenny, I need you to bury Clive." Zach said. He turned to Randy and he said, "Randy… I want you to make sure that Clive doesn't come back. As soon as everyone is done saying goodbye to him, you shoot him… that's what he wants. Got it?"

Randy nodded before Zach turned and stomped away. The group members watched him leave with most of them looking to him with apologetic stares. "I've never seen him do that before." Natalie said with a frown.

"He's under a lot of stress. And part of it wasn't his fault." Kenny said with a glare aimed at Jake.

Some of the other members turned to the boy with a glare as well while others just kept their stare aimed at Zach.

"You went way too far back there." Molly said with a scolding tone.

Jake looked up with a saddened stare and he said, "Yeah… I did. I'm sorry. I just… I got really defensive because we all nearly died out there."

Molly huffed to calm down and she said, "I guess I know where you're coming from. Still, I think you should make amends in some way."

"I will." Jake said with a frown.

The group turned to see the children from the nursery approaching them along with Rebecca. However, Rebecca appeared to be in quite a bit of pain and she was panting.

"You alright, baby?" Alvin asked as he approached Rebecca.

Rebecca huffed a bit as the other group members looked to her. "The baby… I think he's about to come..." Rebecca said as she leaned against the wall.

"He?" Alvin asked.

Rebecca smiled and she nodded. "I was always better at knowing these kind of things than you were." Rebecca said.

"Is everything alright?" Clementine asked. "Daddy seemed really upset when we passed by him."

"Yeah, he's just had a rough night." Natalie said. "I think we've all had a rough night." There was violent coughing from the infirmary and Natalie headed back inside. She went to Clive as the man finished his coughing. She could tell that he was pale and his eyes were bloodshot "You alright?" Natalie asked.

Clive wheezed and he said, "Barely hanging on… let's get this over with. I don't think I have much time left."

Natalie nodded and she gestured the group to come inside. Randy stayed back since Zach tasked him with taking the older man out of his misery.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Clive?" Keith asked.

"He's dying, honey. That's why we're all here. We're here to say goodbye to him before he passes away." Natalie said. She tried her best to phrase the words right without making it sound gruesome.

"What? But I…! No! This isn't fair!" Keith exclaimed with tears forming in his eyes.

"I know, honey." Natalie said to the boy before she walked over to him and placed supportive hands on his shoulders. She understood why the boy was so upset. He did save Clive's life with Zach's help.

"Hey…" Clive said to get the boy's attention. Keith looked up with tear-filled eyes. "I wanted thank you… one last time. Without you and your dad, I would have died a while ago, and it wouldn't have been very peaceful."

"But… now you're gone." Keith sobbed.

"Yeah… that's life for you. You all gave me chance… Zach gave me a chance and I didn't deserve it." Clive said as he looked around to his fellow group members.

"Clive… I'm sorry… I thought of you as the enemy at some point or another… but you proved me wrong." Kenny said.

"No worries. If I were in your shoes at the time, I would have done the same… maybe worse." Clive said. Clive shot up and spat out more dark blood and moaned in pain. "I… I think it's my time…. No more pain…" He laid back down on the bed while Natalie and Patricia ushered the children outside.

They were followed by Molly, Jake, Doug, Carley, Alvin, Rebecca, Patricia, and Sarita. However, Kenny stayed behind. He leaned against the wall with his head down and a frown on his face.

In the hallway, Natalie kept Clementine and Keith close and she placed a hand over one of their ears. She knew what would happen next. The other group members seem to be expecting it as well. Sarita tried to cover the ears of her adopted children as well, but it seemed that they knew what was going to happen next. Molly and Jake mirrored Kenny's reaction before the group left the room. They were leaning against the wall with saddened stares.

"Mommy, daddy, what's going to happen to Clive?" Sarah asked her adoptive parents.

"He's going to Heaven, baby." Rebecca said with a bit of a sob in her voice.

Patricia started to walk down the hallway and back to the nursery while Doug had an arm around Carley and Danielle.

A gunshot sounded and all of them winced even Molly and Jake shuttered. Minutes passed by until Randy walked out of the infirmary. "It's over." Randy said with a frown.

"Thank you." Carley said. "I don't think any of us would have had the strength to do that… especially Zach."

Randy nodded before he headed down to the nursery as well. The group turned upon hearing the footsteps of someone coming closer to them from the opposite way. It was the older man from outside. The same one that had the gray hair and wore a brown hooded sweatshirt. "Hey, I just wanted to check and see if y'all were doing alright. I know this can't be easy." The man said.

"It hasn't been very easy…" Natalie said with a frown.

"Grandpa?" Danielle said.

The older man's eyes widened and he turned to the girl. They looked to each other's eyes. The group members were shocked and alerted by Danielle calling the older man 'Grandpa.' However, the response between the two made it appear that the statement was true. "Dani…" Richard said.

Danielle smile before she ran over to hug the man. Richard squatted down and picked up the eight year old girl. He wrapped her in a tight hug as they both cried. "I thought you were dead… all this time…" Richard cried.

"I know… I did too." Danielle said with a sob. It was a heart-warming moment for the group especially after Clive had died. After a few minutes of hugging and crying in joy, Richard pulled Danielle back and he smiled to her.

"Look how big you've gotten… it's amazing." Richard said.

"I missed you, grandpa." Danielle said.

"I did too, honey." Richard said. He placed the eight year old back onto the ground before he looked up to see Doug and Carley approaching him.

"Hi, I'm Carley and this is my husband, Doug." Carley said.

"Nice to meet you." Richard said. "I want to thank you and your group for looking after my granddaughter. I've… I thought I lost her forever… like I lost my daughter."

"That's just the thing… we…" Doug said, but he trailed off.

"Carley and Doug are my adoptive mommy and daddy." Danielle said to her grandpa.

Richard's eyes widened and he looked down to the child with a shocked stare before he looked up to the husband and wife. "We… we didn't think that she had any other family members out there. If we would have known, we would have looked around before… making the decision." Carley said.

Richard smiled and he shook his head. "You looked after her… when I couldn't. If anything, I should be thanking you."

Doug and Carley were surprised by his response and Doug asked, "So… would you be willing to let us remain as her adoptive parents?"

Richard kept his smile and he nodded. "My granddaughter thinks highly of you both… I can tell, and I certainly am not young enough to be looking after her on my own. You can stay as her parents… just make sure to send her my way every so often." Richard said.

"We will. Thank you." Carley said.

Richard nodded before he looked back down to Danielle. "Bye pumpkin. I gotta go help Eric for a bit." Richard said.

"Okay… bye grandpa." Danielle said with a smile. Richard leaned in and kissed the girl on the head before he turned and went down the hall. He appeared to have a lighter air than what he felt from earlier.

"Well… I'm ready to go to sleep for the night." Doug said.

"I think we all are." Sarita said. "It's sad that morning will be coming in a matter of a couple hours."

"Yeah… ain't that the truth?" Molly muttered.

"We better get some rest… we've all had a long night." Rebecca said.

Natalie nodded and she said, "Sophia's condition is stable, so it'll be okay to leave the infirmary unattended for a few hours." She turned and headed down the hallway with her children. The other group members followed her. Rebecca showed the most difficulty in walking; however, that all changed when she stopped and shouted in pain.

"Shit… shit." Rebecca huffed in pain.

All eyes turned to the woman. Natalie knew what had happened. Rebecca's water broke. "Baby…" Alvin said as he held onto her hand.

"Oh shit…" Rebecca said. "He's coming… He's coming right now!" Natalie released her children's hands and she rushed toward the infirmary. Alvin and Sarita assisted the woman as Natalie rushed past them.

Natalie arrived at the infirmary and was slightly relieved to see that Kenny and Clive were gone. Kenny must have gotten Clive's body away from the infirmary.

"Mom… what's going on?" Sophia asked in a weak voice. She must have woken up from the gunshot or Rebecca's screams in pain.

Natalie rushed past the girl and took off the bedding of the second hospital bed. "Rebecca's having her baby, sweetheart." Natalie said.

She grabbed a cleaner set of white bedding from the closet for the hospital bed and placed it on top of it. She was working against the clock and against her own tired body. She hadn't gotten much sleep over the last day and a half. Alvin and Sarita helped Rebecca into the infirmary and got her to the spare bed while Natalie got everything ready for the baby.

Rebecca let out another scream while Alvin tried to comfort her. "It's alright honey. Everything will be alright." He helped her to lay down on the hospital bed as Rebecca continued to huff in pain.

"I… I hope so…" Rebecca huffed.

"Alright. Sarita, I'm going to need help." Natalie said.

"Of course." Sarita said.

Natalie turned and she said, "Everyone else, stay out in the hallway." However, she turned to Sophia. She knew that she couldn't have the girl watch someone give birth. "Doug… can you take Sophia out in the hallway… she should be okay for a few minutes." Natalie said.

Doug nodded which was enough for Natalie to race to Sophia and remove the IV's in her arm. "I'll be okay. I can-" Sophia said but Natalie interrupted her.

"No, you can't walk yet." Natalie said. "You're still in the recovery process." Natalie finished in removing the IVs as Rebecca released another scream. She ran back to Rebecca's bed as Doug walked over and picked up Sophia.

Rebecca huffed in pain as Alvin held her hand. Her screams were loud enough to alert almost everyone to the scene.

* * *

Zach stumbled down the hall. He had barely gotten any time to rest. He was able to find a white sweater and a black and grey plaid long sleeve shirt in the bedroom that he went into. He was joined by Eric and Alice who were running toward the infirmary. "You should get some rest." Eric said to Zach.

Zach shook his head and he said, "My group… my concerns."

"You sound horrible." Alice said. "Just take it easy." Again, Zach shook his head. He could see most of his group outside the infirmary.

He stumbled toward them and asked, "What's happening?"

"Rebecca's having her baby." Adam said.

Zach's tensed body eased up upon hearing that no one in his group was hurt. After what happened to Clive, Zach wasn't mentally ready for another death to his group.

"Whew… that's a relief. I thought it was something else." Eric said.

Zach groaned as he laid back against the wall and he slid down it. "You alright?" Clementine asked as she approached her adoptive father with a concerned stare.

Zach huffed as he nodded his head. "Yeah… long couple of days."

"You can say that again." Clementine said with a frown. Zach gave her a sympathetic stare. He was glad that he stopped Troy, but Clementine wasn't the same since that day.

Zach turned his head when the door to the infirmary opened. Sarita stepped out, and she huffed a bit; however, she had a smile on her lips. "Rebecca had her baby. It's a baby boy." Sarita said.

Many of the group members smiled and they headed inside to greet the newest addition to the group. Even though Zach was exhausted he did the same. They walked inside to see Rebecca hold the baby in her arms. The boy had big brown eyes which matched his mother's and a nose that was similar to his father's.

"Congratulations, Rebecca." Carley said.

"He looks so cute." Elizabeth said.

"He's my baby brother, right?" Sarah asked.

"Yes baby. That's right." Rebecca said.

Patricia walked in and she smiled to see the infant. "Aw… look at him." She looked over to Natalie and noticed that the woman was exhausted. "I can take over the infirmary if you want? I was almost a nurse before all of this."

"Thanks… It's been a very exhausting day so far." Natalie said. "But first…" She looked over to Doug. The man got the hint and he walked over with Sophia and laid her on the bed. Once again, Natalie placed IVs into girl. She winced from a couple of them. "Sorry but this will help you to get better."

"It's fine… not the worst thing I've ever felt." Sophia said as she looked down to her feet.

Natalie gave the girl a sympathetic stare as finished with the last IV. She leaned over and kissed the girl on the forehead. "I'll be gone for a little while. If you need anything, get Patricia to help you."

Sophia smiled and she said, "Okay, thanks mom."

"You're welcome, hon." Natalie said before she headed out of the infirmary.

Zach looked to the ten year old and he walked over to the girl. He leaned over and kissed the girl on the head like his wife did. "I'll be gone to rest up as well. You look a lot better than what you looked like a few hours ago."

"It's all thanks to you." Sophia said. "You saved my life."

Zach smiled to the girl before he turned to head out of the infirmary as well. He thought over all that had happened in the last couple of days. Not all of it went according to plan especially with the herd and the new group that showed up, but Zach would adjust. He walked into the room where the beds were and he laid down. It wasn't long until his eyes closed shut and he slept.

**Hours Later**

Zach groaned as he opened his eyes. He got up from the bed and he looked around. He could tell by the lateness of the day that it was late afternoon and almost early evening. He got up from the bed and he walked toward the exit.

"Hey…" Zach heard a voice once he was outside the room. He looked down to see Jake standing next to him. Zach gave the boy a glare before he started to walk away. "Can we talk?" The boy asked as he ran over to join Zach.

"The way I see it, there ain't much to talk about." Zach said.

"Look, I'm sorry that I blamed you for Clive's death. I got really worked up from nearly dying out there and… I didn't think." Jake said. "Anyway, I know that things won't be the same ever again between us… so I'm leaving."

"If that's what you think is right… then go for it." Zach said.

Jake huffed and he looked down. "Okay… I guess I'll see you later. I grabbed some food and ammunition from the armory. It wasn't much… so I think you guys will be okay with it." He walked away from Zach and started to head toward one of the exits.

Zach didn't feel much, but deep down… he was disappointed. He saw how strong the boy was out there. Zach knew that his children were too soft to lead Howe's in the future. He figured that Adam or Elizabeth would take over when his time came, but then Jake showed. He outclassed Elizabeth and Adam when it came to his sheer strength and will to survive.

After watching Jake leave, Zach walked down the opposite hallway and toward the yard. He remembered that his group was undecided on what to do with the yard. He walked outside to see most of Eric's group around the table. He noticed that Richard, Zeke, Decker, Tess, and Marceline weren't present. However, Molly was with the group. Zach walked up to the group as they whispered amongst themselves. A cold wind passed by which reminded him that it was still winter outside.

Eric turned to Zach and he was followed by the rest of his group members and Molly. "This is a private conversation, asshole." Brandon spat.

Zach crossed his arms over his chest and he glared at the group. "This better not be what I think it is." Zach said. "My group and I worked hard to get this place. We lost people!"

"We aren't talking about that." Eric said in a calm tone of voice. "It's just… look, you're a good man, Zach, but you're a poor leader. I was talking to Molly about what you did in the past. You went charging into this Crawford place without any reconnaissance… that's not what a good leader would do."

Zach relaxed a bit upon hearing that it was just his leadership coming into question and not Eric and his group taking the hardware store from Zach and his group. "I was an inexperienced leader at the time. All I wanted to do was look after a little girl who became my daughter. I didn't want to lead a group."

"And what would you call that out there?" Eric asked. "That whole mess that we saved you from? What would you call that?"

"I wasn't thinking straight." Zach said as he looked away.

"Zach, I commend you for keeping your people safe this far, but you can't lead them anymore. You'll only get them killed. That's why I'm taking over." Eric said.

Zach shook his head and he said, "I can't… Last time, I let someone take the reins, that person nearly got my wife killed."

"I can assure you that no harm will come to you, your family, or your group." Eric said. "Our two groups are one in the same. We've… lost people that we cared about and we're just trying to make it in this shitty world. We can benefit from each other."

"My dad is trying to help you. Just accept it that no one wants you to lead anymore." Mary said.

"Mary… no." Alice said.

Zach shook his head and he said, "Eric, you're not able to become a true leader. I may screw up in some areas, but what happens when someone in your group puts the lives of your loved ones and friends in jeopardy? What do you do with that person?" Eric didn't speak. He just watched Zach with a somewhat frightened expression. He struggled with that scenario. "That's what I thought. To be a true leader, you have to be able to do the hard part of letting someone go."

"What do you mean by that?" Nicholas asked.

Zach turned to him but his eyes went to Lauren almost immediately. "Remember when I said that Ben caused me and my group some trouble?" Lauren nodded her head and Zach continued, "He put our lives at risk everyday with his incompetence… so I had no choice. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, I let him die."

The group member's eyes widened in horror. All of them were shocked to hear that Zach allowed a teenager to die.

"Wait a minute… back at Crawford…" Molly said which made Zach nod.

"Didn't want to do it, but… he didn't give me any other choice." Zach said.

"The f***…" Niko muttered.

"You let someone die… that… that's f***** up!" Brandon exclaimed.

"We have to kill him. He's too dangerous." Thomas said.

"He did what he had to in order to protect his group." Diego said. "Would we be any different?"

"Why would you trust this f*****?" Brandon exclaimed.

"I don't trust him. I have respect for what he did." Diego said. "It isn't an easy decision."

"That doesn't change the fact that he let a boy die!" Alice exclaimed.

"Alright, enough!" Eric exclaimed. "I-"

"Dad!" Clementine exclaimed. Zach turned to see the eight year old rushing towards him.

"What wrong honey?" Zach asked with a sympathetic stare.

"J-Jake left." Clementine huffed. "I ran all over the place to come and find you."

"I know that hon." Zach said. "Jake felt that he needed to leave after what happened this morning." It was said so casually which made the girl's eyes widened.

"Wait, you didn't stop him?" Molly hissed.

"It was his choice." Zach said. "I didn't force him to leave."

"How… How could you do that?" Clementine asked with tears in her eyes. "I… I liked him… I spent the whole day playing with him… He even said that I was his best friend."

Zach's eyes widened. He didn't know that. Jake never told him anything about that. "Why didn't he say anything about that? That would have changed everything." Zach muttered to himself but Clementine could hear him.

Clementine looked to him with a surprised stare. She wasn't afraid or angry with Zach. She was surprised that Jake didn't tell Zach about what he did.

"Looks like your heartless system of leadership isn't working." Eric said.

"It just needs some adjustments." Zach said. He walked inside the hardware store and went to the armory. The group from outside followed him. Zach entered the armory and picked up an assault rifle.

"What are going to do now? Haven't you f****** up enough?" Thomas inquired.

"Here's the difference between me and you, jackass. At least when I f*** up, I'm going to fix my mistakes." Zach said.

"What was that?" Thomas hissed.

Zach turned to the man and he said, "You heard me. You're a weak spineless coward who hides behind your group. All bark and no bite."

Thomas gritted his teeth and charged at Zach. "Thomas, no!" Evelyn exclaimed.

Zach ducked under the man's punch and delivered a hard punch to his face. It sent the man to the ground with a thud.

"Holy shit…" Brandon exclaimed. The group members looked to Zach with frightened stares. For once Niko and Brandon didn't give Zach a glare. Instead, they were afraid of him.

"Another weakness in your leadership, Eric. My group doesn't act out of line like what your friend here did. They follow my lead." Zach said.

Eric frowned and he sighed. "I'm coming with you." Eric said.

"This is my problem. I'm going to solve it… just like I always do." Zach said.

"Dad, if he wants to get himself killed out there, then let him. You don't have anything to prove here." Mary said with a pleading tone in her voice.

Eric shook his head and he said, "I got to do this." He looked to Zach and he said, "We need to learn to work together. We're going to be in this hardware store for a long time, so we need to be able to fight alongside each other." Eric walked over and picked up an assault rifle as well.

Zach didn't like the idea of Eric coming along, but he didn't really have time to argue. Evening was coming and once the sun dipped down, it would be harder to find Jake. In other words, time was against them.

"Stay safe." Alice said as she hugged Eric.

"I will." Eric said as he returned the hug. They released each other from the hug and Eric sent a serious stare toward his two daughters. "Alright you two… behave while I'm gone… especially you, Niko. Don't bully Marcey while I'm gone."

"Not my fault that she's weak." Niko muttered. Eric sent her a scowl which made her sigh. "Alright, fine… I won't be mean."

"Good." Eric said with a satisfied smirk. He walked over to the two and hugged them as well.

Zach looked down to Clementine and he said, "I'll be back… maybe around morning. Tell your mother that Eric and I went looking for Jake."

Clementine nodded and she said, "I will. Be careful while you're out there."

"Always." Zach said with a chuckle. He bobbed the girl's head which made her giggle. He then leaned down and hugged the eight year old. When they finished the hug, Zach got up and walked toward one of the exits.

"We don't have much time. I'm a decent tracker, but once night comes, things will become more complicated and it'll take more time to figure out where Jake is. And that's not even counting the fact that we have who-knows-how-many walkers, scavengers, and bandits out there." Zach explained.

"We'll find him." Eric said as the two neared the exit.

Zach scoffed and he said, "Yeah, but it's going to be a long night." Zach opened the door and headed outside with Eric following close behind.

…**To be continued.**


	33. Chapter 33 and OC Info

**A/N: So you guys are probably confused on why I didn't put up who owned what OCs in the last chapter. Simple answer… I forgot. I'm kind of wanting some relief from writing that for every chapter, so I will write down the OCs and who their owners are one last time. Anyway, onto the list for the last time. Anyone who wants to know about the OCs, look to this list. I will mention OCs and their authors in the future if they're new to the fic.**

**I do not own Sophia and Madeline Carver. I do not own Eric, Alice, Niko, Mary, and Marceline Murphy. They all belong to FanFic Productions.**

**I do not own Jake Jackson. He belongs to Ken10HeroForce.**

**I do not own Diego Ramirez. He belongs to Watchman1985.**

**I do not own Evelyn Prescott. She belongs to AquaDestinysEmbrace.**

**I do not own Thomas and Tess Harrington. They belong to Everyday Bro.**

**I do not own Brandon Elvidge. He belongs to Brandon547.**

**I do not own Nicholas Smeak. He belongs to Smeake.**

**I do own Zachary Griffith, Natalie McDonnell Griffith, Keith Carver, Richard Weber, Zeke and Decker Bowman, and Lauren Turner.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Zach and Eric continued through the dark woods. It wasn't completely dark outside, but it was getting close. Zach could still see Jake's footprints on the ground without the use of the flashlight, but he would need a flashlight soon. "You weren't always like this." Eric said. "I can tell. The way you talked to your daughter… I caught a glimpse of the man that you used to be."

Zach sighed and he said, "Why does it matter who I was? Part of my past stays so that my children don't have to become cold… like me. However, I am what I am to protect my family and my people."

"You don't have to do that anymore." Eric said. "You and your group are not alone. Look… back there, I wasn't trying to prove that I'm better than you… because I'm not… far from it… I'm… scum… I was scum." Zach looked to the man with a questioning stare and Eric continued, "Before all of this, I was a crime lord. I did what I had to for my family. If that put me on the other side of the law… then I was ready to face the consequences." Eric looked to Zach and he said, "You're better than this. I can tell."

"I'm not a marine anymore. The law, the government, and everything else is gone. We're in this shit by ourselves now! Get that through your f****** skull! It doesn't matter what you did before all of this. What you are now… is a survivor." Zach said.

"I was a survivor before all of this, but you were a marine! You don't have to sink to my level!" Eric exclaimed.

"Stop calling me that! I'm not a damn marine anymore! I left that life behind when I let what was left of my unit die!" Zach exclaimed. He released a sigh and stared at Eric for a few seconds. "Don't try to bring me back from the brink… you will fail." Zach said. However the two men were interrupted when they heard growling and the sound of footsteps. They turned and saw a few walkers approaching them.

"Looks like we got company." Eric said as he drew his chokuto.

"Seems that way." Zach said as he drew his katana. The two men raced toward the walkers and started to slice the creatures to bits. Eric was able to keep up with Zach which surprised him. No one in his group had ever managed to keep up with him. Eric stabbed one walker in the head and pulled the blade out of the undead creature to behead another approaching walker. Zach slashed at one walker in the skull before he grabbed another walker and slammed it to the ground with a throw over his shoulder. He finished off the walker a stab to its skull.

Zach looked up to see only one walker remaining. "You got it?" Zach asked as Eric rushed past him.

"Yeah." Eric said as he slashed at the last walker's skull. The walker fell to the ground with a thud. Zach reached for his flashlight and turned it on. He walked over and shined the flashlight on the tracks. They were barely visible when the two had some light to work with. However, nightfall had come and the only way to see the tracks was with the flashlight.

"Come on. We can't be too far off." Zach said.

They walked through the darkness in silence with Zach keeping his flashlight aimed on the path. "So… why didn't you ever let someone else lead the group? You obviously don't like leading a group."

"Because no one else can do it. Doug and Natalie are too soft, Carley's just a pretty face with a gun… Kenny comes the closest, but… he's got too much of that stubborn redneck inside of him. He wouldn't lead for very long." Zach explained.

"I see… I only got stuck in leading the group because… I thought I was the right man for the job." Eric said. "I still think that's why we've done so well so far. We haven't lost too many people. We did lose Lauren's parents, but that was the only casualties."

Zach frowned. He wished that he had taken over sooner. So many people could have been spared from dying if he had done so. Mark, Katjaa, Duck, and Chuck would still be alive if he had only been the leader at the very start. The first thing he would have done was to either leave the motor inn with almost everyone or kill Lilly and Larry. Both were unstable, and they nearly killed him and his group

The two men were alerted when they could hear yelling in the distance. "You better not be f****** with us!" A man's voice was heard.

"I'm not!" A young boy was heard after the man.

"Jake." Eric said. The two men ran over to the scene while trying their best to stay in the shadows.

"Come on, kid. Where's the rest of your group?" Another man inquired.

"I don't have anyone else! It's just me!" Jake said.

"Stop f****** lying to us!" A strong-looking and intimidating man hissed, and he slapped the boy to the ground. Jake groaned in pain as Eric winced.

"F*** Randall! Take it easy man!" One of the men exclaimed.

Randall looked to the surprised group members before he spat. "Well, what are y'all waiting for? Drag his ass back to camp. We got questions for him."

"Y-Yes sir." One of the men said. He picked up the eight year old boy and started to walk away along with the rest of his group.

"We gotta help him." Eric said.

"There's too many. We'll follow their asses to their camp and head back to Howe's to get able-bodied people to help us rescue Jake." Zach said.

"The way I see it. You ain't doing either." A man in front of Zach and Eric said. Both men looked up to see the man named Randall aiming a handgun at the two. "Get up." Zach and Eric slowly stood up and raised their hands above their heads. "That's it. Now, what's this about a 'Howe's' is it? Hmm?" He had a smug look on his face which made Zach growl.

"None of your damn business, motherf*****!" Zach spat. Randall turned to Zach and punched him in the face. Zach grunted from the hit before he hit the ground with a thud.

"Zach!" Eric exclaimed. However, it didn't take long for Zach's vision to turn black and for him to become unconscious.

**Hours Later**

Zach groaned as his eyes opened and he looked around. It appeared that he was in a small room… it felt almost claustrophobic. He looked around and saw that Eric and Jake were tied up with him. Zach also noticed that the room felt like it was swaying. They must have been on a ship of some sort; they were probably in the lower deck.

Zach tried to free himself but it was no use. "Zip ties… damn you." Zach hissed. "Son of a bitch." He looked over to Eric and he said, "Hey Eric, wake up."

The man groaned as he opened his eyes. "What… What's going on? Geez… that guy hit hard."

"I think we're on a ship. We're probably on the lower deck." Zach explained.

The two men heard a groan and looked to Jake. "Ow… what happened?" Jake muttered.

"Jake, you alright?" Zach asked.

Jake was surprised to hear Zach's voice and he looked up to the marine. "Hey… I thought you didn't care about me leaving."

"Well, for a moment I didn't, but then… my daughter told me that you played with her yesterday… and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forced you to leave. You've been through hell… and I just added onto that." Zach said.

"I wasn't in the right back there. So, I guess we're even… especially since you and Eric came out to come find me." Jake said with a smile.

Zach scoffed as he smiled back. The boy was almost a reflection of himself, minus the swearing. Zach was sure that his father would have beaten him black and blue if his father ever heard him swear before he was eighteen.

"Okay… I hate to interrupt, but we're in a tight spot at the moment." Eric said.

"Yeah… you're right." Zack said.

The three were interrupted when they heard a door open. They looked up to see Randall coming down the stairs. Once again, he had a smug look on his face. He reached the bottom of the stairs and he looked to the survivors. "Well, well, the two gays and their son." Randall said.

The three looked to Randall with a glare which the man ignored. "My sister is wanting to talk to you." Randall said as he pulled Zach off of the metal pipe that kept him in place with the zip-ties. The zip-ties kept him hand-cuffed, but he was able to walk still. Randall pushed Zach forward and he made a gesture to go up the stairs. Zach obliged and he headed up the stairs. He reached the top of the steps and exited the lower deck.

He looked around to see that there were three to four boats or floating homes… It was rather hard to tell. Zach received a shove and Randall hissed, "Come on… don't waste my time." Zach stumbled forward and before he regained his balance. From what he could tell the surrounding group members must have been scavengers. Zach walked forward as the older man walked next to him. "It was rather unkind of you for what you called me last night. I'd like to hear a nice apology for that snarky spat of yours." Zach could tell that the man was trying to get on his nerves.

Zach smirked and he said, "I wouldn't count on it if I were you… You're going to learn really fast that I'm an asshole…"

"Hmm… fine… suit yourself… You'll be begging here in a few minutes." Randall said with a smug look on his face. Zach didn't like what was meant by the man. He sounded a little too confident. Zach and Randall approached an overweight woman peering down at them. "Here, he is… the trouble-maker from last night." Randall said. "He's the most dangerous out of the four we captured."

Zach looked to the man with a questioning stare. "Four? There was only three of us last night."

"Everything will be explained. We just need you to answer a few questions." The woman said. She looked to Randall and she said, "Leave us." Zach was surprised to see Randall leave, but he contemplated what he said. Someone else was captured, but who?

"Come along." The woman said with a gesture for Zach to follow her. Zach had no choice. He needed answers just as much as the woman needed answers. "Allow me to explain what's going on. My name's Norma." She scoffed before she continued, "I swear people are getting more and more boring with their names in each generation." Zach remained silent. He just stared at the woman as they climbed up the stairs. "Not one for small talk, are you?" Norma asked.

"Not right now I'm not." Zach said.

They reached the upper deck and Norma gestured for Zach to sit down. Zach obliged as she took a seat across from him. She pulled out a beer from the cooler next to her seat and opened it. She took a sip before she offered some to Zach. "Thanks but I hate the taste of alcohol." Zach said.

Norma smirked and she said, "I wish my ex-husband had that problem." She then took another sip. "Okay Zachary, here's the problem. My people found you and your little group while they were searching for some other folks who lied and stole from us. Now, I understand that we didn't make a very good first impression, but… we're not bad people. We're just like you and your crew. We're survivors."

"I get that." Zach said.

"Good… now that we have a mutual understanding… there will be some questioning that needs to be done." Norma said. She picked up the radio that Zach had from yesterday morning's attack from the giant herd of walkers. "Now, I heard this man on your radio this morning. What I need to know is how many there are of you and where you're at, so we can keep an eye on your group." Zach knew the radio was wired to Doug's frequency; he must have called in this morning to ask about Zach's whereabouts.

"I don't feel inclined to tell you. How do I know that you and your people won't attack my group?" Zach said.

Norma scoffed and she said, "A fair point, but I need information." She looked to the stairs which made Zach do the same. His eyes widened when he saw Clementine with Randall behind her. He had his gun aimed at her head.

"So, let's talk." Norma said.

"Clem…" Zach said with a worried voice.

"I… I… I'm sorry, daddy." The girl whimpered. She tried to stay away from the gun without provoking the man.

"I didn't know she was your daughter." Norma said. Zach turned to her with a glare and she said, "I'm sorry that it's going this far, but I have to make sure that you understand the severity of the situation."

Zach huffed as Randall pushed Clementine over to the chair that was opposite from him. Zach looked up and he asked, "Clem, is everyone else alright? Who else did they capture?"

"J-Just me. I snuck out and followed you and Eric." Clementine said with a frown.

"Why?" Zach snapped. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I… I'm sorry." Clementine cried. Zach released a sigh. He was angry with the girl, but he would have to worry about an appropriate punishment for later. At the moment, they were in a tense situation.

"Alright… I'm just going to need your cooperation, Zachary." Norma said. "How many are there of you and your group?"

Zach looked up to Norma and he said, "There's eighteen of us." Part of the statement was true. There were eighteen adults in Zach's group.

"Hmm… good. Now… make sure you keep answering my questions right." Norma said. However, Zach was angered and shocked to see Randall hit Clementine with the grip of his pistol. The girl released a yelp and tears ran down her face.

"Hey!" Zach snapped.

"What?" Randall inquired. "Just making sure that you know what's at stake here." The girl whimpered a little before Randall glared at her. He smacked her with the grip of his pistol again, but it was much harder this time. Zach growled at him as a new wound opened up on the side of Clementine's head. She didn't look good. Her eyes became wide and somewhat blank.

"Fuck… come on Randall! Take it easy." The guard at the stairs said.

"I will break your face if you keep doing that!" Zach bellowed.

"Yeah… you look really intimidating over there tied up." Randall spat.

"Zach, you still need to answer my questions." Norma said before she turned to Randall. "Randall, no more of that." Randall scowled before he nodded his head. "Alright Zach… a couple more questions. Where are you all located?"

Zach thought hard before he said, "We're set up at a… hardware store… not far from where your people found Jake."

Norma smiled and she said, "Good… last question." Zach looked over to Clementine. He was worried to death over the girl's safety and her health. It looked like she was ready to pass out. Randall must have hit her hard enough to where she had a concussion, and she was trying to fight off the symptoms. "We're looking for two thieving and lying teenagers… the girl's the worst liar you can find… where are they?"

Zach looked to Norma and asked, "What are their names?"

"Sam and Greg." Norma said.

"I don't have people in my group named Sam or Greg." Zach said. Norma looked into Zach's eyes with a scowl before she got up. The two were alerted when they heard Clementine yelp. She hit the ground with Randall placing the chair back on the ground. He then approached her and kicked her in the waist which made her cough.

"Randall, that is enough!" Norma exclaimed.

Zach raced out of his chair and tackled Randall. The older man was surprised at first, but he delivered a punch to Zach's gut. Zach coughed from the blow before Randall punched him in the face. Zach fell to the ground with Randall glaring at him. "You really want to mess with me, you f****** pansy!" Randall snapped as he kicked Zach in the waist. Zach coughed from the blow while the older man looked over him in victory.

"Dammit, Randall!" The guard exclaimed. He turned to Norma and said, "Norma, please, there has to be another way of doing this."

"What would you want to do? To give them a pat on the back and a lollipop?" Randall snapped as he walked over and pushed the guard. "You aren't going to get anything from them by being soft!"

"He's got a point, Randall. You took it too far this time… just like you always do." Norma said. "Jarrod and I will handle this, you just go and make sure nothing is sneaking around our perimeter." Randall shook his head with a glare before he left the group.

Zach looked over to Clementine to see that she was unconscious. "Please, my daughter needs medical attention." Zach said while keeping his eyes on the passed out eight year old girl.

"Take her to the infirmary and let doc take a look at her." Norma said.

"Okay." Jarrod said. He walked over and helped Zach up before he turned to the girl and picked her up. Zach watched as Jarrod left with the girl in his arms.

"The doctor we have here ain't exactly certified, but he's the best we got." Norma said.

Zach glared at her and he said, "Your brother is going to die soon… because I'm going to kill him. No one attacks my daughter like that and gets away with it."

Norma sent a glare at Zach and she said, "No… listen to me… Randall took it too far back there, but I had to make sure that you understood that we meant business."

"Yeah… so do we." Zach said. "You shouldn't underestimate us."

"Well, well, well… look who we found." Randall said. Zach turned his glare toward Randall to see a teenage girl and boy. They were hand-cuffed, and they appeared to have been beaten a bit.

"Norma, I-" The girl said.

"Not. A. Word." Norma hissed at the girl. She turned to Randall and said, "Sit them down. We've got a lot to talk about." The teenagers frowned but were forced to sit down in the chairs that Zach and Clementine were in earlier by Randall. Zach watched them sit down. He had no idea who they were, but he could probably guess due to Norma's reaction.

"Who are they?" Zach asked.

"I wouldn't be playing that bullshit game if I were you." Randall said as he walked up to Zach and punched him in the gut. "You know who they are."

Zach groaned in pain from the hit and he backed up a bit. "Randall! He doesn't know anything!" Norma exclaimed.

"That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous." Randall said with a growl. Zach had enough. He ran over and smacked his head into Randall's face. "GAH!" Randall exclaimed. He looked up and swung at Zach but he ducked down and swiped the brutish man off his feet. Randall groaned again as he slammed onto the floor. He tried to get back up, but Zach kicked him with a hard kick to his waist.

"Who's the f****** pansy now, you motherf*****!" Zach hissed. "Consider that a small act of retribution for what you did to my little girl!"

"F****** son of a bitch." Randall hissed.

"Enough!" Norma exclaimed. She looked over to Jarrod and said, "Get Zachary back to the prison room with the other two. We got bigger fish to fry."

"You're just going to let him get away with how he treated me!" Randall exclaimed as he stood up.

"First of all… we need to figure out what those two miscreants did with our supplies." Norma said as she gestured to the teenagers. "Second, I told you that you went too far. You got what you deserved… maybe now you'll learn to relax a bit." Randall looked down with a scowl before he looked over to Zach.

"Don't think that this is over." Randall snapped. "When this is all over, I'm going to beat the shit out of you and that little girl of yours."

Jarrod tried to force Zach to walk away, but Zach had one more thing to say to the brutish older man. "When this is all over, you'll be dead… and I'll make sure you turn." Zach said. He wrestled out of Jarrod's grip and headed down the stairs with the guard following him. It remained very quiet between the two for several seconds.

"I… I can't believe you did that to Randall… it's just… I never seen anyone do that to him. I always thought that no one was strong enough." Jarrod said.

"He's strong, but he's also arrogant, and like any human being out there, he can die from being shot in the head." Zach said as the two continued toward the door where Zach's fellow group members were being held. Jarrod opened the door and gestured Zach to head down. Zach obliged and stood next to Eric.

"So what happened to you?" Jake asked. "You look like you got into a fight with a bear."

"That's one way of putting it." Zach said. He turned to Eric and he said, "Clem was following us last night. They caught her too."

"Shit…" Eric said as his eye widened.

"Is she alright?" Jake asked.

"Kind of. That stupid douchebag, Randall, gave her a concussion, and he beat on her a bit." Zach said with anger lacing his voice.

"That f*****…" Jake hissed. "He dies for doing that."

"Damn right he does." Zach said.

"Okay… we need a plan here." Eric said. "As far as we know, we don't know if we're going to receive help from our group."

"Somehow, we're going to have to find a way to get to Clementine to add on top of that." Zach said.

"Damn… talk about being in between a rock and a hard place. We don't have a lot of options to choose from." Eric muttered.

There was a loud bang that echoed from outside which was followed by a scream. Zach's eyes widened upon hearing the scream. He was afraid that it was Clementine who was screaming. "We need to get out of here, now." Zach said.

"Agreed. Son of a bitch… we're probably next." Eric said as he tried to cut his bindings with the pipe that his zip ties were attached to. Jake did the same, but Zach looked around for something else to cut his restraints.

A few minutes passed by and none of them were successful. They were interrupted when the door opened. The three looked up to see Norma, Randall, and the girl from earlier. However, the girl was weeping uncontrollably and her head was down.

"You brought this upon yourself." Norma said.

"You killed my f****** brother... how is that even right?" The teenager cried as she looked to Norma.

She was slapped by Randall and was sent to the ground. "F****** stop, Randall!" Jarrod exclaimed.

"You don't talk to my sister like that." Randall hissed.

"Enough Randall… we still have some questions that need answered." Norma said. Randall nodded before he headed down the stairs.

Randall pulled Eric and Jake from the pipes that they were restrained on before he said, "Come on, we got much to talk about." The three looked up to see that Norma had left; however, the teenager from earlier was standing. The three headed up the stairs, and the group left the lower deck.

* * *

They followed Jarrod's and Randall's lead. Zach was relieved to see that his daughter wasn't involved or harmed by the prior gunshot, but he still wanted to get her out of the hostile camp. Zach kept wondering what she was thinking by following him and Eric. She knew better; still it didn't matter. They would have to find a way out.

Randall led the group to a room where a man was at. "Randall, what are you doing in here… can't you see that I have a patient at the moment?" The man inquired. Zach could see his daughter with a bandage around her head. It took the place of her baseball hat. However, she seemed to be sleeping quite peacefully.

"Well doc, Norma wants these prisoners interrogated, and she made it clear that here would be fine." Randall explained. "Now… out." He made a head gesture to the door.

The man stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Randall had a smirk on his lips and he said, "Now… Jarrod, interview this trash." He gave the guard a handgun which made the guard somewhat hesitant at first; however, he adjusted his grip and aimed at the group members with a shaky grip.

"Okay… take it easy… we'll cooperate with you." Eric said.

"…You better… I… I will shoot you if it comes to that." Jarrod said with a nervous tone in his voice.

"How do you expect them to take you seriously when you're shaking like that?" Randall inquired.

"Tell Randall to leave. You're in charge at the moment, aren't you?" Jake asked.

"I… I…" Jarrod stuttered.

"You know… I don't think that they're taking you seriously. Shoot one of them… make that person an example for the rest of these assholes." Randall said.

"If there's one person who needs shot in this room, it's you, motherf*****." Zach said to Randall.

"Look at that… You really think that these people respect you?" Randall inquired.

"I… I don't know!" Jarrod exclaimed.

"Jarrod, please… just put the gun down." The teenager said in a whimpering voice. "I've already lost Greg… no one else needs to die today."

"I… Sam…" Jarrod said.

"Do something!" Randall exclaimed.

"Just ask us a question, and then everything-" Eric explained but he was cut off by a loud boom from outside. Jarrod fired by accident while everyone else stumbled.

"What was that?" Randall exclaimed.

The girl named Sam sputtered and coughed. Zach looked to see her still standing, but there was a red spot on her shirt which was getting bigger. "Holy f***." Eric muttered.

Sam dropped to the ground which made Jarrod back away. "I… I didn't… I didn't mean to do that."

"Useless…" Randall said. "Come on, we're going to go take care of whatever the hell that was, then we'll have a discussion about your mistakes." Randall spat as he dragged Jarrod outside.

The door slammed shut which gave Zach and Eric the opportunity that they needed. Eric ran toward a mirror and kicked it. The glass shattered but there were still parts of the mirror that remained intact. Eric turned around and rubbed his bindings against the mirror's edge. "You read my mind." Zach said.

Eric nodded and he stood upright with his bindings finally off. "Okay your turn." Eric said to Zach. Zach rubbed the zip ties against the mirror's edge while Eric ran over to help Sam. Zach could see that she was in pain, and she wasn't looking good.

Zach freed himself from his bindings and he ran over to Clementine. He could hear the teenager cry in pain as he ran up to Clementine. He checked her temperature and her pulse. She seemed to be doing okay despite the head wound. "Is she okay?" Jake asked. He was also free from his bindings.

"Yeah… stay with her…" Zach said before he ran over to help Eric.

Zach saw the wound; the bullet had to have hit a major organ. "There's not much we can do for her." Eric explained to Zach. Both men couldn't hear Sam whimpering anymore. They looked to her and saw that her chest wasn't moving. Eric placed a couple of fingers against her throat and he sighed. "She's dead." He lowered his head with a frown forming on his face.

"Then we can't let her come back." Zach said and he ran over to grab one of the glass shards. He picked up a piece and returned to the girl. Zach was a bit hesitant to stab her in the skull since all he could think about was his oldest daughter, but he managed to place the glass shard in her skull, anyway. He pulled the shard out in time to hear two sets of footsteps and voices nearing the door. Eric ran over and grabbed a glass shard as well and both men took opposite sides of the door.

"She's not looking good, doc." Jarrod's shaky voice was heard.

"It's alright. Just let me have a look at her." The man from earlier said. The door opened and Eric leapt out to kill Jarrod. "Holy shit!" The man exclaimed before Zach leapt out and stabbed the man in the throat with the glass shard. Both men hit the ground with Jarrod being dead and the doctor choking on his own blood.

Eric grabbed Jarrod's handgun and fired a shot into the other man's head. Eric shook his head over what happened and he asked, "What now?"

"We get rid of these guys once and for all." Zach said.

Eric nodded before he went over to Jake. "Jake, stay here with Clem. Use this to protect yourselves." He gave the handgun to the boy who nodded and accepted it. "Zach and I will be back in a little while."

"Okay, I'll keep her safe until then." Jake said.

Zach smirked and he said, "Alright, just don't be making out with her; otherwise, I might have to skin you alive, boy."

"Yuck…" Jake spat. "Okay… that is disgusting. You really are an asshole."

"What can I say? It's my finest quality." Zach said with a smirk. "I'm not too afraid to admit it." Zach wasn't too sure why his comical tastes almost always came at the worst times.

Eric chuckled and shook his head. "You really are something else, Zach." Eric said.

"Glad you and I can agree with that logic. Can you convince my wife to think the same way?" Zach said. It was as if the tension between Zach and Eric had disappeared.

"Trust me… I'm lucky that Alice agrees to almost half of the things I say." Eric said. He huffed as he placed his hand on the door. "You ready to finish this?" Eric asked Zach.

"Yeah… one thing though." Zach said.

"What's that?" Eric asked. "Come on… we don't have a lot of time. It sounds like World War 3 out there."

"You were right… I didn't know it at the time, but back at Howe's, you had everything down to be the leader. Assuming we make it through this, you're going to become the new leader of Howe's, but I do plan to be second-in-command." Zach said. "You're the right man for the job."

Eric smiled and he said, "Thanks… I never wanted to drive a wedge between our two groups… I was only doing what I thought was best."

Zach nodded and he said, "Well… let's get this done so we can get back home."

Eric nodded before he opened the door. Both men were unarmed, but they were experienced, and there was a gunfight which probably meant easy access to the armory.

…**To be continued.**

**A/N: Jarrod is not an OC… he's Zachary from the Michonne DLC as is the other characters like Randall and Norma. I renamed him Jarrod since we already have a Zachary in the story.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

**All OC information can be found in Chapter 33.**

Zach and Eric ran outside and saw that the majority of Norma's group was firing at the forest. The two heard footsteps coming toward them. They turned around and readied themselves to disarm whoever was approaching them. Zach grabbed one of the people while Eric grabbed the other. Zach pinned the person to the wall but his eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Nicholas?" Zach asked as he looked to the surprised man's face.

"Lauren… sorry sweetheart. Had no idea it was you." Eric said. Zach released his grip on Nicholas while Eric helped the teenage girl back up.

"I'm good, Eric." Lauren said.

"Are you guys okay?" Nicholas asked. "We came here as soon as we could."

"How'd you know we were here?" Eric asked.

"Doug was able to find you guys." Lauren said. "Once he lost contact with you, he traced the walkie-talkie's location and used the satellite he captured to find the location. He saw Zach from an overhead view."

"Damn… that Doug guy is pretty resourceful." Eric said.

"Yeah… anyway… some of the folks are firing from the forest. Ken told us to try and find you guys." Nicholas explained. He took the assault rifle off and offered it to Zach while Lauren did the same with her assault rifle but to Eric.

Eric shook his head and he said, "Keep it. We just need a handgun."

"Okay." Nicholas said and he pulled out his handgun and gave it to Zach. Zach accepted it as Eric accepted Lauren's side arm.

"Shit! The prisoners are escaping!" A guard exclaimed before he fired at the group. Zach, Eric, and Lauren ducked down while Nicholas fired several shots into the guard. He yelled out in pain before he fell into the water. The other guards took notice, but their numbers had dwindled.

Another shot rang out from the forest and hit a man in the head. There were only three people left. Zach shot another man in the head and the man fell to the ground with a thud.

"Okay, take it easy!" A woman exclaimed.

"Not happening." Lauren said and she shot the woman in the head.

"Damn babe." Nicholas said with a frown. Lauren looked to him with a glare, but she was cut off from saying anything from another shot ringing out. It was from Eric. He had killed the last of Norma's group; however, it wasn't long until Eric and Zach noticed that Norma and Randall weren't among the bodies.

They turned and run up the stairs to the upper deck where Norma had spent a majority of time. Once there, they saw Norma slumped in her chair and breathing heavy huffs. Her clothing was drenched in blood, and it appeared that there were two bullet wounds on her body. She looked to the two men with a glare and a gurgled huff. "Knew this was going to happen…. It would have only been a matter of time." She released a series of pained coughs as the two men approached her with their weapons drawn.

"You brought this upon yourself. You should have never abducted us." Eric said.

"Where's your brother?" Zach asked.

"Gone… long gone. I hope he finds a way to get back at y'all, but knowing him… he will." Norma said.

"He'll die an arrogant fool… just like you." Zach said as he raised his handgun and fired a shot into Norma's skull. Zach holstered his weapon while Eric huffed.

"Well, now what?" Zach asked.

"There's some supplies here. We'll grab whatever we can carry and make our way back to Howe's." Eric explained.

"Sounds good." Zach said. The two men heard footsteps on the lower deck and they went over to investigate. It appeared that most of Eric's group was on the lower deck. Thomas and Diego were talking to Lauren and Nicholas while Kenny, Carley, Molly, Brandon, Niko, Mary, Evelyn, and Richard were looking around for any other survivor from Norma's group.

Zach and Eric headed down the stairs and joined Lauren, Nicholas, Diego, and Thomas. "Alright… these assholes are history. Let's just get out of here and get back to Howe's. I don't like leaving my daughter with people I barely know." Thomas said.

"Be patient, Thomas. This place is a gold mine. We need to gather up everything." Diego said. "Plus, we ought to get some information from one of these idiots. I can be very persuasive."

"I agree with Diego about getting everything, but I don't think there's anyone else alive. So we'll have to skip interrogation." Nicholas said.

"We need to get back to Howe's soon. We got a lot of manpower out here, and to make things worse, Howe's is leaderless at the moment." Evelyn said as she approached the adults.

The remaining group member soon joined in as well with the exception of Carley and Richard keeping an eye on the forest's edge for any stragglers, bandits, or walkers.

"We need to make a decision about the supplies." Brandon said. "I'd say we take it all."

"Hell yeah, we take it all! We take everything we can carry!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Shut up, dumbass. You're not a part of our group." Niko spat.

"You think I give a damn what you think, you little prissy bitch." Kenny spat back at the teenager.

Niko glared at the man and she hissed, "You f****** asshole… maybe I ought to end you now!" She pulled out a gun and aimed it at Kenny. The man glared back at her and went for his handgun, but she shot him in the hand.

"AHHH!" Kenny exclaimed as he gripped his shot hand.

"NIKO!" Eric exclaimed. He wrestled the gun from her grip and he shouted, "Knock it off!"

"Why are you supporting these assholes, dad? Why didn't you just let them die back in that herd? We can't trust them!" Niko exclaimed.

"Let's not forget to mention that their leader is a psychopath." Thomas said as he aimed his hunting rifle at Zach. Zach stared back at the man and turned to Eric. Meanwhile, Kenny huffed and yelled out in pain.

"First of all, you all follow my lead… I made that clear as possible from day one!" Eric shouted at the group. "I told you that I would protect you and I would provide for you! Why should that have to change? Almost none of you are following my lead right now!"

"Because we have that dickhead to worry about!" Brandon exclaimed as he pointed toward Zach.

Eric sent a glare toward Brandon and he asked, "What are you even doing here, Brandon? You should have stayed back with the others."

"Why? Because you think I'm some f****** kid?" Brandon hissed. "Let me tell you, Murphy! I'm sick of this shit! I'm sick of being treated as some stupid kid who can't do shit!"

"Get used to it!" Eric snapped. "Whether you like it or not, you're still a f****** kid which means you stay back with the other kids!"

"F*** that! You're not my dad, you piece of shit!" Brandon exclaimed.

"Enough!" Evelyn exclaimed and she got between them. She looked to Eric and she said, "I'm sorry, Eric. I tried to convince him to stay back with everyone else, but… he's persistent."

Eric huffed and he said, "It's alright." He turned back to Brandon and he said, "You and I are going to have a talk later." He then turned to Niko and he approached her. "As for you, you are grounded for a month."

"That's not fair!" Niko exclaimed.

He gave the girl a very serious stare and looked her into the eye. "Don't f*** with me Niko. I mean it." The girl appeared to be frighten by the serious stare in her father's eyes and she backed down.

"Yes sir." Niko said as she shied from his glance.

"Apparently, I've given you too much freedom and allowed you to get away with too much." Eric said as he backed away from her. "Now, I want you to apologize to Kenny for shooting him."

"But he-"Niko said but she was interrupted by her father.

"NOW!" Eric exclaimed.

Niko lowered her head and she went up to Kenny. The older man glared at her and awaited for her apology. "I… I'm sorry, Kenny…" Niko said in a defeated tone of voice.

"For what?" Kenny inquired.

"For shooting you in the hand." Niko said.

"That's better. Now get back over here." Eric said with anger lacing his voice.

"Okay dad. You made your point." Mary said with a frown.

"No, I haven't. I should have never let things spiral out of control like this." Eric said.

Zach cleared his throat and he said, "Since we're all quiet at the moment, I guess this would be a good time to point out that I'm not the leader of my group anymore."

"Wait, what?" Kenny inquired. The other group members were shocked and surprised to hear the news as well with exception of Eric, Jake, and Clementine.

"Bullshit. He's lying." Thomas said.

"Actually he's not." Eric said in a calm tone of voice. "We spent some time with each other in this shithole of a camp, and we were able to come to the conclusion that I should lead, and Zach will be my second-in-command."

"That is bullshit! I ain't trusting him!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Yes, you are!" Zach said. "I told you from the very beginning that I don't care about running a group. I've always wanted a family, and now that I have that, I'm going to spend more time with them. The only reason I took up a leadership position was to keep you guys safe, but now, someone more qualified can do that."

"Zach…" Kenny said with a frown.

"I've been with Eric for the last several hours. He's the exact man we need at Howe's to run the group… not me." Zach explained. "I want you and everyone else to recognize him as the leader from now on."

"If… If that's what you want, pal." Kenny said.

"It's for the best." Zach said.

"I think it would be for the best, too. I think you made a good decision." Molly said.

"I still don't trust this guy." Thomas said.

"Thomas… just shut up, okay?" Evelyn said. Thomas sent a glare to the woman but sighed in defeat a few seconds later.

"Alright… here's what we're going to do." Eric said. "Carley and Richard are going to keep an eye on our perimeter, while the rest of us are going to take as much supplies as we can carry. After that's happened, I want all of you to lead us back to Howe's. Zach and I were unconscious when we were brought here, so someone else will have to lead."

"I can do that." Evelyn said.

Eric nodded and he said, "Thanks Eve." The group members dispersed at that moment and they went through the floating homes for anything of value.

* * *

Zach was in the doctor's office and he was rummaging through his drawers for medication and other supplies. He could hear Jake and Clementine talking to each other. They seemed rather happy with each other.

"So, what did you do?" Clementine asked.

Jake chuckled and he said, "I put some of the glue on her seat when she wasn't looking. Next thing I heard was her swearing up a storm with her butt stuck to the seat… then she fell over." The two children laughed at the prank while a smile formed on Zach's face. Jake certainly was the troublemaker, but he seemed like a good kid.

"So Zach, did you ever do anything like that when you were a kid?" Jake asked as his and Clementine's laughing subsided.

"Well, my dad was a mean cuss, but that didn't always stop me. So, yeah. I did little pranks like that." Zach replied.

"Did you ever get caught?" Clementine asked.

"Many times. If anything, I got caught every single time." Zach said.

Jake chuckled and he asked, "Has Clem ever played a prank on you?"

"Oh yes… her mother usually helps." Zach said.

Clementine shrugged and she said, "It's only fair. You almost always pick on her and me."

"Well, yeah… that's what a dad is supposed to do." Zach said.

Clementine giggled and she said, "I guess so."

Suddenly, the door opened and Carley looked to the three inside. "We gotta go. Walkers are here." Carley explained before she ran out the door.

"Alright, let's go. I want you two to stick close to me." Zach said with a serious tone in his voice. He drew his katana and headed out the door with Jake and Clementine following behind him.

"I can handle myself, Zach!" Jake said.

"You're still a kid, Jake." Zach said. He looked around and found his fellow group members fighting off the walkers to get to the mainland. It appeared that they were on a make-shift one-way bridge. He ran over to join them while making sure that the two children were able to keep up with him.

His eyes widened when he noticed that his daughter was grabbed by a hand from the water. Somehow the walker was able to grab onto her foot. She gasped in surprise and she tried to free her foot, but to no avail. Zach was about to head back, but Jake managed to reach the girl first. The boy hacked the walkers hand off after a couple of swings from his hatchet and he helped the girl up. "You okay?" Jake asked.

"Uh-huh." Clementine said with a nod. The two raced back over to Zach and they went toward the forest where Eric and the rest of the group was waiting.

Zach and the two children finally got across the bridge and joined them. "Good, let's go!" Eric exclaimed and he ran into the forest with the group following behind him. Zach was thankful that they managed to escape Norma's camp, but part of him felt nervous. They may have escaped, but Randall escaped as well. More than likely, the brutish man would seek revenge.

* * *

The group approached Howe's to see Alvin taking watch. "Doug, we have returned with Eric, Zach, Jake, and Clementine." Diego said into a radio.

"That's good. Thanks for going out there." Doug's voice was heard from the radio.

"No problem." Diego replied.

Zach continued to walk while he kept his stare aimed at Jake and Clementine; however, he heard footsteps approaching him. "Hey." Thomas said with a solemn tone in his voice.

"What?" Zach inquired.

"I just… want to know if we're cool. I guess I made a bad judgement call about you." Thomas said.

"You think?" Zach asked.

"Don't push it. You're lucky that I'm even apologizing." Thomas snapped.

"Keep in mind that I didn't put you in this position." Zach said.

Thomas sighed and he lowered his head with a frown. "I know… that's why I'm trying to apologizing. I took it too far." Thomas said.

"It's fine… you were just trying to protect your daughter… I do the same thing at times." Zach said.

"Yeah… Tess… she's all I got left of Melody… my wife died from giving birth to Tess." Thomas explained.

Zach hummed in sadness. He and his family never experienced anyone dying from childbirth complications, but it did happen. "That's never easy. I can see why you're so protective of Tess. She's not just your daughter. She's also all you have left of your wife." Zach said.

"Yeah…" Thomas said. The group reached the door to head inside. Eric held the door, but he kept Niko by his side. It was obvious that Eric was very angry with her attitude. For once, Niko frowned from her actions. She must have taken it too far.

Once inside, Zach was immediately greeted by his wife. Natalie hugged her husband with a tight grip. "My gosh… are you alright?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah… it was a rough trip." Zach said as he pulled her back by her shoulders.

"H-Hi mom." Clementine said with a shaky and nervous tone in her voice.

Natalie turned to the girl with a scowl at first which made the girl flinch but Natalie's expression softened when she saw the bandage around the girl's head, "Clementine… are you alright? What happened to you?"

"This guy named Randall put a beating on her." Zach said. "He gave her concussion which knocked her out cold."

Natalie looked to Clementine with a frown and she lowered herself to the ground. "Honey, I'm not going to punish you, but you have to understand that your father and I keep you close by so that this doesn't happen."

"I know… I'm sorry… I just… I just wanted to help get Jake back." Clementine explained. "I didn't want him to get hurt."

"Oh honey… you just weren't ready for what was out there…. One day, you will be ready, but for now, you stay in here." Natalie said with a caring tone in her voice.

Clementine nodded while tears formed in her eyes. "Come here." Natalie said as she pulled the girl forward. Clementine obliged and allowed the woman to pick her up. Jake sent a sympathetic stare toward Clementine before he could hear Eric. Zach turned to Eric as well upon hearing his voice.

"Can I get everyone's attention please?" Eric said. It wasn't long until all eyes were on him. "As you all know, Zach, Jake, Clementine, and I were captured by a hostile group. However, thanks to the valiant efforts of many in this room, you were able to rescue us. You all put your differences aside and saved us. Listen, I'm thankful for your help, but it also proves that when push comes to shove, we can work side-by-side. We don't have to be alone anymore. Instead of being two large groups who are occupying the same building, let's become one very strong group. We've got enough enemies out there…." All eyes remained on him. Almost everyone was in the room. The only people who were missing were Rebecca, her baby, Alvin, and Sophia. "I propose that we unite… and that I become the leader. My people have survived for the most part… and I do mess up at times, but I can assure you that I will do my best to protect you all."

It was silent within the room. Many of the group members already knew what was going to happen, but they still had to make it official.

"I second that you become the leader and that our two groups unite." Zach said as he raised his hand. Eric sent an appreciative stare while Zach could see the surprised and shocked stares from his own group.

"Everyone for this action raise your hand." Eric announced. Zach had his arm up along with the majority of Eric's group. Natalie placed Clementine back onto the ground and raised her hand as well. Clementine, Keith, Jake, and Madeline joined them and raised their hands. Zach looked over to see Doug raising his hand. He nodded to Carley who also raised her hand. Both adults were followed by Danielle. Soon, almost everyone had their hands raised with the exception of Brandon and Kenny.

Kenny was reluctant to raise his hand, but he followed suit with everyone else. However, Brandon only crossed his arms over his chest and he said, "This is so dumb. Why do we need to trust them? They're the ones who need us."

"You're wrong." Richard said. "We need each other. We can't be willing to fight everyone. We'll die that way."

"He's right and why should we fight them? They're good people." Evelyn said.

"No, they're not!" Brandon exclaimed. "We don't know anything about them."

"We know enough." Eric said. He looked out to his fellow group members and he said, "Seeing how the vote is almost unanimous, it is declared that our groups will unite and I'll stay as leader. Zach will be second-in-command and he can take over when I'm injured."

"Or killed." Brandon said. "Don't you see that you're walking into his trap?"

"Do us all a favor and shut your damn mouth." Lauren spat as she sent a glare toward Brandon.

"Lauren…" Nicholas said and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Get your f****** hand off me." Lauren spat and she stomped toward the exit.

Nicholas sighed and he said, "What did I do this time?"

"F*** this…" Brandon spat and he stormed out of the room as well.

Kenny walked up to Nicholas and he placed an arm on his shoulder. "Hey… don't worry about it. She ain't mad at you. Something else is bothering her. You gotta go talk to her and see what's bothering her." Kenny said.

"But she's mad." Nicholas said.

Kenny shook his head and he said, "She's upset. There's a difference. Just talk to her and don't bring up anything about what happened. Just ask her how she's doing and don't leave until you get an honest answer."

Nicholas nodded and a smile formed on his lips. "Thanks Kenny."

"No problem, Nick. I'm always there for you." Kenny said. Nicholas looked to where Lauren had left and he walked down the hallway.

Kenny turned and he walked up to Natalie. "Hey, I need you to look at my hand. Got shot out there." Kenny explained. He presented his wounded hand and Natalie cringed from the sight of it. She examined the hand for a few seconds while Kenny growled in pain.

"You got a couple of broken bones from the shot and some of the muscle got torn, but that seems to be worst of it." Natalie explained. "Come on, I'll get it cleaned up in the infirmary." She turned and led Kenny toward the infirmary which gave Zach the chance to reunite with Keith and Madeline.

The remaining group members within the room were dispersing including Eric's family. He and Alice seemed to be in an intense conversation while he kept Niko in place by her arm. Mary and Marceline were walking away from the other three family members and were talking to each other. The majority of the group appeared to be heading to the nursery which was where Zach would have to take Clementine, Keith, and Madeline to next.

Zach crouched down and pulled the eight year old boy and the four year old girl into a hug. "I missed you two." Zach said with a smile.

"We missed you too." Madeline said. Zach pulled her and her brother back and he smiled to the two.

"Where'd you learn to speak so well, Maddie?" Zach asked.

"Patricia's been teaching me. She says that I'm doing a good job so far." Madeline said.

"You are doing a very good job." Zach said. "You kids grow up so fast. You make me feel old."

"You're still young, daddy. Quit being goofy." Clementine said.

Zach smirked and he said, "Clem, I told you that dads are always goofy."

Clementine rolled her eyes as Zach stood up. "Okay. I bet you guys want to go to the nursery." Zach said.

"Yes please." The two girls said; however, Keith shook his head.

"Daddy, I made a cross for my last dad while you were gone." Keith said. "Can… Can I take it out there and put it where his grave is? I'll need your help since I don't really know how to fight walkers all that well."

"Sure hon. Just let me get your sisters to the nursery." Zach said.

"Hey Zach." Carley said as she approached the former marine.

"What's up?" Zach asked.

"Molly and I went on a run a couple nights ago to get new clothes for Clem and Maddie." Carley explained. "I can help them get dressed and send them to the nursery if you want."

"I would appreciate it." Zach said. "I need to help Keith do something."

"Okay." Carley said. She looked down to the two girls and she said, "Come on." Madeline held onto Carley's hand while Clementine followed close behind them.

Zach turned to Keith and he said, "Let's go get your cross." Keith smiled and nodded his head. He raced to the room that he shared with his new parents while Zach followed close behind.

* * *

Zach watched as his adopted son stood back up with dirt on his hands. He had a frown on his face for a couple of seconds until he felt his adoptive father's hand on his shoulder. "My dad wasn't a good man…" Keith said with a frown.

Zach huffed and he said, "It wasn't his fault…. These are tough times."

Keith looked up to his adoptive father and he asked, "What about you? Are you still good?"

Zach was silent for a few moments before he breathed out a huff. "I've done terrible things so that our group can survive. I don't regret them because we're alive. So, you'll have to take that for what it's worth."

"Okay." Keith said with a frown. "Will you ever hit us like my last dad did?"

Zach crouched down to the ground and he looked into his adopted son's eyes. "I promise you that I will never do that. You, your sisters, and your new mom are my world."

Keith smiled and he said, "That's good. I love you, daddy." He hugged Zach while resting his head on Zach's shoulder.

"I love you too, Keith." Zach said as he wrapped his arms around the boy and picked him up. Zach turned to Howe's, and he headed inside. Part of him was very relieved that he was no longer the leader, but there was a part of him that didn't feel right. He wondered if his group could survive with a new leader.

**Two Months Later**

It was still cold outside, but the snow surrounding Howe's was starting to melt. Many of the group members were eating at the table while the chilled wind whipped around them. It was in the thirties and many wanted to head back inside to get out of the cold wind. They were eating oatmeal for breakfast again. It had been the normal breakfast for the last month and everyone was sick of it.

"How's Sophia doing?" Zach asked Natalie. He had to go on a run yesterday, so he was unable to see his eldest.

"She's improving. She's walking a little bit, but I can tell that she wants out of that hospital bed." Natalie explained.

"I bet." Zach said. "Heck, she'll be walking around normally soon."

"Yeah, she's definitely improving." Natalie said.

"I'll take her out of the infirmary for a little while." Zach said.

"That would be good." Clementine said. "Can I join you?"

"Us too." Madeline said as she gestured to her older brother. Both girls were wearing the outfits that they had gotten from Carley and Molly from a couple months ago. Madeline was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt with a cream colored dress underneath, black tights, and black flats. Clementine wore a black hooded sweatshirt, a purple skirt, black tights, and black flats. Both were girly-girl's at heart even if Clementine was a bit more of a tom-boy.

Zach chuckled and he said, "Yeah, you three can come along."

"Yay!" The three children exclaimed. Zach knew that Keith and Madeline were very close with Sophia, but he was surprised to see how fast Sophia and Clementine had gotten along. One thing that he discovered very quickly about Sophia was that she was definitely a tom-boy and a daddy's girl. In that respect, she and Madeline were opposites.

Zach turned his attention to Kenny and he asked, "How's your hand, Ken?"

"Getting better." Kenny said as he stirred his oatmeal around "I've been talking to Eric about Wellington for the past couple of days."

"What did he have to say?" Randy asked.

"Well for the most part, he said that he would think about it, but yesterday I made some progress." The group members looked to Kenny and he continued, "He's considering putting a team together to head up north."

"That sounds good. We need to find people to trade with." Zeke said.

"Yeah… just no more oatmeal." Decker said as he continued to stir his bowl of oatmeal which made his older brother laugh.

Molly laughed and she said, "I agree."

The group members soon finished their breakfast, but they were all reluctant to do so. It was good that they were eating something, but they had been eating the same thing for almost a whole month for breakfast. Zach and his family went to the infirmary while everyone else scattered before another day's work could begin. They walked into the infirmary to see the young girl on the bed with a book in her hand.

"Hey Sophie. How are you doing, hon?" Natalie asked as she walked up to the girl. She was finally well enough to be able to walk for the past week, but she was still shaky in her steps and she got tired easily.

"I'm okay, mom." Sophia said as she set her book down. Natalie walked up the girl and helped her to sit up. "Thanks." Sophia said with a smile.

"Hey Sophie, how about I get you out of this room for a little while? Your siblings are going to be joining us." Zach said.

Sophia smiled and she said, "I would really like that."

"It'd be good for you to stretch your legs for a little while. Just be sure to not overdo it." Natalie said.

"I won't overdo it." Sophia said.

Natalie nodded to her daughter before she turned to Zach. "Zachary, take her wheelchair just in case."

"Will do." Zach said before he walked over and grabbed the folded up wheelchair. It was there in case Sophia wanted to get out of the infirmary and most of the adults were too busy to watch her. Zach walked back over and held the ten year old girl's hand. She stumbled a bit, but Zach kept her from falling. "I got you." Zach said.

"Thanks daddy." Sophia said. He started to help her walk out of the infirmary with the other three children following behind them.

They continued to walk down the hallway in silence until Clementine asked, "How's your feet, Sophia?"

"Better… a lot better." Sophia said.

"We're glad to see you walking again. For a while, we didn't know if you would be able to do so." Keith said with a frown.

Sophia scoffed and she said, "You should know by now that I'm too stubborn to let that happen."

"Stubborn is right." Zach said with a smirk.

Sophia turned to Zach and she said, "Ohh… okay… you just bought yourself a nice little prank when I'm capable of running."

"It was worth it." Zach said with a shrug. Sophia giggled a bit before they headed closer to the yard. Sophia was starting to get winded which didn't go unnoticed by her adoptive father. "You okay?"

"I can go a little further." Sophia huffed.

"You don't sound good. Maybe you should rest." Madeline said with a worried frown.

Sophia was about to speak but she was interrupted by Eric. "Hey Zach." Zach turned to see the leader approaching him.

"What's up?" Zach asked.

"Hey… sorry to interrupt." Eric said. He sent a smile to Sophia and he said, "Hey there, Sophie, you're looking better each day."

"Thanks." Sophia said.

Eric turned back to Zach and he said, "Listen… I haven't told everyone yet, but I do plan on going to Wellington. Kenny has brought it up to my attention, and honestly, I would like to know a little more about the place… get some food, supplies, and schematics."

"Schematics?" Zach asked.

"Yeah…" Eric said. "Zach… I know you and your group fought really hard for this place, but… it's not fit for as many people as we got… We need to move on."

Zach huffed and he said, "You're right. It is time to move on. This place has a lot of bad memories, and it's not fit for families."

Eric nodded and he said, "First things first, we need to find Wellington, and I want you with me. A few of my people are staying back. Obviously, my wife, Alice, is staying back to look after my youngest, Marceline. Richard is staying back since he thinks it's better to stay with his granddaughter and her family. Plus, he's experienced enough to protect them. I had a hard time convincing Thomas to come without Tess. I'm glad that he trusts Randy and Patricia enough to let the little one stay. He tried to convince me in saying that she would come with us… I'm just glad that they were able to change his mind. Tom's tough so I'm going to need him on this journey."

"What about the rest of your crew?" Zach asked.

"I talked to Kenny about this. He agreed to take over, and I decided to have Niko and Brandon to come along. I need to get them away from Kenny… seeing what happened two months ago." Eric explained.

"It's been a while since then." Zach said.

"I know." Eric said. "Niko's a bit mad at me for what happened, but she's also scared of me. That's why I need her to come along. I need to show her that I still care about her, but there are limits of what she's allowed to do. I don't know about Brandon… the kid's hard to read… but I know that he's too stubborn to stay behind." Zach nodded his head and the leader continued, "Luke will keep Kenny out of trouble so he stays, and I feel better if Molly stays here. Just in case the group needs her to make a run. The other group members who are joining us are Diego, Mary, Nicholas, and Lauren. The reason I want you to come along is because you're our best bargaining chip. Your immunity… it could save us all if Wellington has doctors or scientists. This is our best chance to give the kids a better future."

Zach looked down and thought of Eric's words. He knew that the older man was right. He wanted his daughters and son to grow up somewhat normally. There would still be bandits and scavengers to deal with, but with Wellington's help, they could achieve a better future. Plus, Zach always wondered why he was immune. Zach looked to Eric and he said, "I'm in."

…**To be continued.**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Well… I'm going to level with you guys. I kind of lost momentum on this story, but there wasn't going to be many chapters left anyway… probably one or two.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Walking Dead**_**. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

"That's good… Thank you, Zach. I'm going to need all the help I can get." Eric said.

Suddenly, Sophia let out a gasp and she fell. Zach gripped her hand and prevented her from falling but it was apparent that the girl was huffing in pain. "Sophie, you okay?" Zach asked and he proceeded to pick up the ten year old.

"I… yeah…" Sophia said with a whimper.

"Aw hon." Zach said. "I think you may have put too much on your feet." Sophia whimpered a little before she nodded her head.

Keith opened up the wheelchair for Zach to place Sophia on. Zach looked to the girl and he asked, "Will you be alright in the wheelchair?"

Sophia sighed and she said, "I guess so."

Zach chuckled and he said, "Don't worry, hon. It's not permanent." He placed the girl in the wheelchair and he turned back to Eric.

Eric was looking to Sophia with a worried stare. "You okay, hon?" Eric asked.

Sophia looked to Eric and she nodded her head. "How long will my daddy be gone?" Sophia asked.

"I wish I knew." Eric said. "It depends on how many obstacles we face on the way up there. We can't possibly get lucky enough to not face any, but with winter almost behind us, it's likely that we won't have to deal with snow and ice so that should cut our time in half."

"Still, it's a good walk up there. I'm sure Doug will be monitoring our movements." Zach said.

"Yeah, I'll be carrying his make-shift communicator on the way up there." Eric said as he pulled out what was a pager, but thanks to Doug, it was a way for him to communicate to anyone who went on runs. It only worked with his connection, but it was nice that they were making technological progress. The walkie-talkies had the bad quality of fading out at a certain distance, so the group had to find a new way to make a long-range communication device. Doug was tasked with making the device which was completed in a month's time.

"I'll come with you. I'm old enough to help." Sophia said.

"Absolutely not. Brandon is lucky that he's even going. To add on top of it, you're not at full health. You've made a lot of progress, Sophia, but you're definitely not ready." Eric said.

Sophia frowned and she looked down. Eric sighed and he looked to Zach, "I had to really fight Marcey in staying back, so I guess you'll have to fight with your little one."

"Only natural that she wants to go with her dad." Zach said. "When are we heading out?"

"Tomorrow morning. We need to make way as soon as possible." Eric said.

Zach nodded and he said, "I'll be ready. Just let me talk to my wife." Eric nodded before he left Zach and his children. Zach looked down to his children and he smiled. It was nice to see them interact with one another especially Sophia; however, he could tell that the girl was a bit upset that he was leaving soon. Therefore, Zach knew that he had to spend the day with his four children. It would be a while till he would see them again.

**Morning**

Zach woke up early upon feeling a nudge on his shoulder. "Wake up, Zach." Zach opened his eyes and he looked up to see Nicholas. "Time to go." Nicholas said.

Zach got out of bed with a groan and tried to orient himself. He noticed that the children were still asleep. He got up and quietly fetched his supplies. He knew it would be a long trip. He and Nicholas walked out of the room and approached the gate where most of the group was.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Eric asked Kenny.

"Yeah… shouldn't be that hard." Kenny said.

"I think I'll be staying put so I can spend more time with my granddaughter." Richard said.

"That's fine." Eric said. "Well… I guess we'll be back before you know it."

"Sounds good. I'll try to keep communication up." Doug said.

"Okay… everyone set?" Eric asked.

"It might be best if HE doesn't come along." Brandon said as he sent a glare toward Zach.

"Brandon… please don't start with this." Eric said.

"He may have a point. Can we even trust him? He's proven to be unstable." Diego said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't trust me. I'm a dick… blah, blah, blah." Zach said. "Can we just get going?"

"Yeah, let's go… He's coming with us, Brandon… so you better get used to it." Eric said. The garage door opened and the group headed outside.

"This is bullshit." Brandon muttered before he followed the group.

Natalie walked up to Zach and kissed him. Zach returned the kiss and they hugged each other. It didn't last long since Zach knew that he would have to catch up to Eric and the others.

"Good luck…" Natalie said.

"Thanks…" Zach said. He and Natalie separated and Zach ran over to catch up with Eric's group.

"I hope this will be worth the trip." Eric said.

"Yeah. Either way, we got a long walk ahead of us." Evelyn said.

"We'll survive." Thomas said.

There was still snow on the ground, but they had planned to head out near the end of winter. By the time that they reach Wellington, it will be spring.

"At least it's not as cold as it was." Nicholas said.

"Trust me… we wouldn't be out here if it was still winter." Eric said.

Hours passed as they continued north. Eric pulled out the radio and said, "Doug, this is Eric. Can you hear me?"

"Yes… I can also see you guys through a telescope on the satellite." Doug's voice was heard from the make-shift, long range radio.

"Good, do you see any walkers ahead of us?" Eric asked.

There was no reply for a few seconds, but Doug did respond. "Yeah, I see a few, but they're not in a huge group."

"Okay. Contact me if anything else develops." Eric said.

"Roger that. Out." Doug said.

"Okay… out." Eric replied. He turned off the radio and placed it back into his pocket. "Doug is certainly resourceful."

Zach scoffed and he said, "Damn straight. When all of this started, he was able to get an alarm system up with nothing but scraps. It was pretty elaborate too. He set it up to where a certain bell would go off to indicate where a walker would be."

"Holy shit… Good thing he's with us." Eric said. The group continued their approach toward the walkers. The creatures growled at them before they limped toward the group. None of the group members wanted to attract any further attention so they waited for the walkers to get close. However, none of them did. One walker was attacked from behind by what appeared to be a machete. The weapon was yanked out to reveal a girl from behind. She appeared to be in her late teens. The other two walkers snarled at her as she slashed another walkers head off. This was followed by her stabbing the last walker in the head. She was skilled.

The girl looked to the group with an untrusting stare and she asked, "Who are you?" She raised her machete as if she was ready to attack the group. On top of being skilled, she was cold. It was a very deadly combination. To add on top of it. She was drenched in walker and human blood.

"We don't want any trouble…" Eric said.

"We can take her… There's how many of us against her." Niko said.

"We're not out here to fight every person we see." Evelyn said. "We're just trying to get to Wellington."

"We're just people…" Zach said.

"If you want, you can come along with us." Eric said.

"Are you insane? Look at her. How can we trust her?" Brandon exclaimed.

"You're not a very good judge of character…" Zach said.

"Oh f*** you." Brandon snapped.

"Enough Brandon. Look… the girl has been put through a lot… Let's give her a chance." Eric said.

Brandon grumbled to himself while the rest of the group looked back to the girl. "Look, how about you give us a chance. You look like you've been put through the mill and I think that you'll live a happier life if you come with us." Eric said.

The girl lowered her weapon. She sighed and she said, "I'm Talyne."

"Nice to meet you, Talyne." Eric said. "I'm Eric. I'll let the other members introduce themselves."

Zach wasn't sure in letting Talyne into the group but he knew that Eric was right. The girl was just a bit rough around the edges. "I'm Zach." Zach said.

"I'm Diego." Diego said.

"I'm Evelyn but you can just call me Eve. Everyone calls me that." Evelyn said.

"Laruen." Lauren said.

"Hi there… I'm Nicholas." Nicholas said.

"I'm Mary and this is my sister, Niko." Mary said. Niko sent an untrusting stare at Talyne.

"Name's Thomas." Thomas said.

Talyne nodded to the group as introductions ended. Eric sighed and he said, "Well… we ought to get a move on. We need to keep heading Wellington."

He led the way while Talyne walked next to him. She still seemed on edge throughout the day.

* * *

It was nighttime as the group settled down at an abandoned power station. They only had a fire to keep them warm. Evelyn and Lauren had helped Talyne in getting some new clothes to replace her blood drenched and torn clothes. However, she was still distant from the group.

"It's a nice night… Cold, but nice." Diego said.

"Yeah… it's pretty peaceful." Eric said. He grabbed a bottle from his bag.

There was a long pause before Nicholas asked, "Where did you get that?"

Eric scoffed and he said, "Found it at Howe's. I figured we would need some along the way." It was followed by a swig of something. It was probably rum or whiskey.

Zach could hear them from where he was. He had told them that he would take watch for the first few hours near the broken fence.

"I guess you people are alright…" Talyne said.

"Yeah… some of us have a rough past." Eric said.

"Don't we all." Diego said. "My past is one of the worst, but I don't regret it. I did what I had to for my family."

"Yeah… me too." Eric said. It sounded like they were taking turns in passing the whiskey and taking a drink.

"F*** it…" Brandon snapped. Zack looked over and saw him walk away from the group.

Zach sighed and he got up. He needed to figure out why the boy was so hostile. He walked over to Brandon and he said, "You know I didn't quite know what to make of you and your group when you arrived at Howe's."

"Why don't you just shut up and leave me alone?" Brandon hissed.

"Because… I know why you're acting this way… You feel like everyone has betrayed you. You know that something's up with me. Truth is… you're wrong… I was a marine before all of this. Left my unit to die in Atlanta, had to put my wife down afterwards, and I had no idea where any of my relatives were. I still don't know if they survived or not." Zach said.

"That is nothing compared to what I went through!" Brandon snapped. "My mom was killed right in front of me, my dad blew his brains out, and my older brothers were killed… all in the same day."

"…That's rough… I can understand why you became so cold." Zach said.

"I don't need your pity." Brandon snapped.

"Fair enough… but what do you want?" Zach asked. "Do you just want to stay cold for the rest of your life… Have no one care about you? Is that really what you want?"

Brandon looked down and he sighed. "No… I guess I don't want that."

"Times are changing. The walkers are dying out… You've adjusted to this new world… now you need to start thinking about the old world." Zach said and he walked away. He went back to being on watch while he heard Brandon's footsteps walking toward the fire.

Zach could hear the group talking; however, he wasn't paying much attention. Zach thought to himself. He kept thinking back to when he was married to Amaya. He seemed to be lost in thought until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see Talyne. She had a bottle of rum in her hands, and she was offering it to him.

"Thanks…" Zach said as he accepted the bottle and drank a large amount of rum from it. He finished his drink with a huff. "I needed that."

"You did good in talking him down… The kid's been through a lot, but he needs to understand that he isn't alone and he shouldn't push people out of his life." Talyne said.

Zach nodded and he said, "Yeah…"

It was silent between the two until Talyne said, "…I killed someone for you and your group. Randall… he was being annoying and arrogant…"

Zach was surprised to hear that the terrible man had met his fate. He was glad that he was dead. "You have my thanks for killing him and my sympathy for putting up with him." Zach said.

Talyne scoffed and she said, "Sure…" She got back up and Zach gave her the rum.

"I'm going to stay over here and keep watch." Zach said.

"Okay…" Talyne said and she walked back to the fire. Zach had only been away from his family for a couple days, but he already missed them. He thought it to be weird that his wife and children had become so important in his life when he didn't know any of them three years ago.

**Nine Days Later**

It had been a long nine days for the group. They were all exhausted as they reached the top of the hill. "I think we may have found it." Evelyn said from the top of the hill.

"I hope so… I'm not moving like I used to." Diego said.

"That has to be it." Niko said.

Eric, Zach, Diego, and Thomas finally reached the top of the hill to see a large wall at the foot of the hill. The wall seemed to be made out of freights with the use of a crane which was visible even with the wall up.

"That has to be it…" Eric said. He walked down from the hill along with his group. However, they could see several people coming out of the freight. They were armed with assault rifles. The supposed leader took aim along with the rest of the men once Eric and the group got close enough. "Who are you?" The leader asked.

Eric raised his hands and he said, "I'm Eric… We're not here to start anything."

The leader seemed unconvinced. He looked to the group members and he said, "You got a lot of people with you… You seem dangerous."

"We're just trying to protect ourselves…" Eric said.

"…Fair enough." The man said. "My name is Steve… I'm one of the council members in Wellington."

"Council members?" Eric asked.

"Yeah… we started with a leader, but… he knew he couldn't handle it… so we set up a democracy." Steve explained. "I'm guessing you're the leader of this group."

"That's right…" Eric said.

Steve nodded and he asked, "Are there any more of you?"

"Yes… but there back down south in Tennessee." Eric said. "We heard about Wellington and we wanted to see if all the rumors were true."

"Well… you'll be happy to hear that Wellington does exist, but… I do have bad news. We're very crowded at the moment. We've maintain some technology and the people inside these walls are safe, but… we don't have any room for anyone else."

"We figured as much. I had a feeling that it would be overcrowded." Zach said.

"Since we can't come inside, how about we start trading amongst each other." Eric said.

"What do you have to trade for?" Steve asked.

"We got a tech geek back at Howe's. He's been working his ass off getting some improvised technologies up and running." Eric explained.

"We also have a commercial fisherman with us. So nine months out of the year, you can get some sea food."

Steve pondered to himself and he said, "Both would be beneficial to our community. So what do you want in return?"

"Builders, food, and help." Eric said. "We're set up in a hardware store at the moment, but we need a real home."

Steve nodded his head and he said, "I'll have to talk to my other council members and have the people vote."

"That's fair. Keep this in the meantime. That tech geek that I mentioned is on the other end. His name is Doug." Eric said as he gave the make-shift communicator to Steve.

"Will do… thanks." Steve said.

"Yeah…" Eric said with a nod. He turned and walked away from Steve. The other group member followed him. It was time that they returned to their temporary home.

**One Year Later**

The group members were busy packing up. They transported mostly everything from Howe's Hardware to their new community that they had created with the help of Wellington. Zach flung his backpack over his shoulder, and he headed out to his car.

"So we're leaving now?" Clementine asked. She was now nine years old, but she was about the same height as the average eight year old.

"Yeah… we're heading to a new home. Some place that's safer." Zach said.

"That's good… I saw some of the pictures of our new community… It looks really nice." Clementine said.

"Yeah… maybe we'll get a normal life out of this after all." Zach said. He and the girl walked out of the hardware store and into his vehicle. Eric's SUV was in the very front of the vehicle. One by one, they left the hardware store… never to return again.

They would spend the rest of their lives at their new settlement. Eventually… it would all go back to normal. The virus that started it all was doomed to die out. It would only take a decade after it first began for it to disappear forever. The walkers would be gone… permanently.

**THE END**

**A/N: Sorry this one didn't end that well. Anyway, thanks for submitting the OCs. This will probably be one of the last fics that will follow the game so closely. I'm getting better as a writer and I want to start branching out and write my own plots… I might follow Season 3 very closely but that's it.**

**Anyway… sorry that the OCs didn't get much action. I ran out of ideas near the end.**

**Anyway… this story was awesome. It had some really good parts in it. And it is my longest story up to date… Q out.**


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